Getting Perplexed with Makefiles and Visual Studio

Makefiles are these really cool things that people use to automate building of their source code into things like executables or libraries. They also handle dependencies and how other files interact and generate outputs. That’s pretty wild.

Visual Studio: IDE Magic, with Makefile-Based Projects?

Visual Studio is super cool too. It’s like the all-in-one tool you need for Windows, Android, iOS, and web development. Now, what if we took Makefiles and used them within Visual Studio? Mind blown. We can do that using the external tool feature, where any command-line feature can be used in VS. Wow.

The Steps: A Pillar Article

In this article, we’ll go through how to use Makefiles within Visual Studio. Brace yourself. Here are the steps we’ll be taking:

1. Creating a Makefile-Based Project

• First, open up Visual Studio.
• Find “File” > “New” > “Project.”
• Choose “Installed” under “Templates,” and select “Other Languages” under “Visual C++.”
• Make sure to select “Makefile Project” and enter an appropriate name and location for your project.
• Finally, click “Create.” This generates a new folder with the Makefile and main.c file.

2. Configuring Project Properties in VS

• Right-click on the project in the “Solution Explorer” and select “Properties.”
• Select “Configuration Properties” and “General” on the left-hand menu.
• Configure your desired settings, such as where build outputs should be stored or the command-line arguments to pass to the Makefile.
• Select “Configuration Properties” and “VC++ Directories” from the left-hand menu.
• Configure settings like the paths to header files and libraries.
• Press “OK” to save the changes.

3. Defining Makefile Rules and Dependencies

• Open the “Makefile” file in the project folder within Visual Studio.
• Define key rules like “all” and “clean” to build and delete output and object files respectively.
• Define variables to use in the rules, such as “CC” for the C compiler, “CFLAGS” for the compiler flags, and “LIBS” for the libraries to link against.
• Create rules to build the executable and object files you need.
• Save the “Makefile” file and close it.

4. Building, Running, and Debugging the Project

• Configure the build settings before actually building and testing the project.
• Choose “Build” > “Build Solution” to build the project using the Makefile within VS.
• Select “Debug” > “Start Debugging” to run the executable (e.g., “myprog.exe”).
• Use debugging tools in Visual Studio to go through the code, check variables, and isolate errors.

The Conclusion

Makefiles might seem confusing at first, but they can simplify things you didn’t think could be automated. Likewise, Visual Studio is an IDE powerhouse that can handle multiple platforms and projects. Now, just think about combining the two into one… and boom, your mind is blown even more. By using the steps provided in this article, you can really see the benefits of Makefiles in action in Visual Studio.