Makefile template for shared library https://www.topbug.net/blog/2019/10/28/makefile-template-for-a-shared-library-in-c-with-explanations/

Makefile

# Makefile template for a shared library in C
# https://www.topbug.net/blog/2019/10/28/makefile-template-for-a-shared-library-in-c-with-explanations/

CC = gcc  # C compiler
CFLAGS = -fPIC -Wall -Wextra -O2 -g  # C flags
LDFLAGS = -shared   # linking flags
RM = rm -f   # rm command
TARGET_LIB = libtarget.so  # target lib

SRCS = main.c src1.c src2.c  # source files
OBJS = $(SRCS:.c=.o)

.PHONY: all
all: ${TARGET_LIB}

$(TARGET_LIB): $(OBJS)
	$(CC) ${LDFLAGS} -o $@ $^

$(SRCS:.c=.d):%.d:%.c
	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -MM $< >$@

include $(SRCS:.c=.d)

.PHONY: clean
clean:
	-${RM} ${TARGET_LIB} ${OBJS} $(SRCS:.c=.d)

does -O2 and -g can co exist?

@DevNaga

does -O2 and -g can co exist?

From man gcc:

Unlike most other C compilers, GCC allows you to use -g' with-O'. The shortcuts taken by optimized code may occasionally produce surprising results: some variables you declared may not exist at all; flow of control may briefly move where you did not expect it; some statements may not be executed because they compute constant results or their values were already at hand; some statements may execute in different places because they were moved out of loops.

Nevertheless it proves possible to debug optimized output. This makes it reasonable to use the optimizer for programs that might have bugs.

tl;dr - yes it can.

Can you please explain its working. I mean I can see that you have generated .o files and linked em together to make the .so. I want to know like step by step execution of this makefile. (I'm new to makefiles and bash, so you might want to elaborate $^, $< etc).

There are tons information on google about Makefile. Please google by yourself. @saqibahmed515

could you tell me how can i build static library with your Makefile? and how can i specify a special directory for .d and .o files.

Better using -MMD -MP for dependencies auto-generation.

much appreciated! needed this in a pinch.

What about header file ?

@nainesh1311 You don't need to add them to the Makefile, because we should only send source files directly to the compiler and the compiler will find header files automatically.

Fix
$(SRCS:.c=.d):%.d:%.c
to
$(SRCS:.c=.o):%.o:%.c

And...
Why do you use the -MM option if you don’t have an entry point in `$(SRCS:.c=.d)? Where you using .d file?
https://renenyffenegger.ch/notes/development/languages/C-C-plus-plus/GCC/options/MM

$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -MM $< >$@ create some .d files

@dr-begemot $(SRCS:.c=.d):%.d:%.c is correct. The *.d files are used in the include line. $(SRCS:.c=.o):%.o:%.c is not needed because they are subsumed by the content of *.d files. In your link, there is an example that states main.d contains:

main.o: main.c hello-world.h print-line.h

which is exactly what your "correction" tries to add (with header files also taken care of).

@xuhdev
okay, then where entry point to
$(SRCS:.c=.d):%.d:%.c
?

You wrote: $(TARGET_LIB): $(OBJS)
where OBJS is $(SRCS:.c=.o), .c=.o, not .c=.d

I really want to understand)

$(SRCS:.c=.d):%.d:%.c is used to generate *.d files.

$(SRCS:.c=.o) are expressed in the generated *.d files. (Try to use this template in a minimum project and inspect the generated *.d files yourself.) I can write a post explaining this template, but I will not be able to do it until weekend.

How to force your way accept include path -I?

@dr-begemot I've written a blog post explaining this file: https://www.topbug.net/blog/2019/10/28/makefile-template-for-a-shared-library-in-c-with-explanations/

HTH