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bmakelib

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The minimalist Make standard library you'd always wished for!

bmakelib is a standard library of reusable targets, recipes, and functions designed to help you write cleaner, safer, and self-documenting Makefiles with GNU Make 4.4+.

Quick Start

Drop this zero-installation bootstrap snippet directly into your Makefile:

###################### bmakelib: download, install and include.
-include $(or $(BMAKELIB_DIR),$(PWD)/.bmakelib)/bmakelib.mk
$(or $(BMAKELIB_DIR),$(PWD)/.bmakelib)/bmakelib.mk:
    @mkdir -p $(@D)
    @curl -fsSL https://github.com/bahmanm/bmakelib/releases/$(if $(BMAKELIB_VERSION),download/$(BMAKELIB_VERSION),latest/download)/bmakelib-portable.tar.gz \
        | tar -xz -C $(@D) --strip-components=3
###################### bmakelib: done

build: bmakelib.error-if-blank( ENVIRONMENT ) ## Build application artefacts
build:
    @echo "Building for $(ENVIRONMENT)..."
  • Fetches the latest version by default. Pin the version using BMAKELIB_VERSION.
  • Installs to ./.bmakelib/ by default. Customise using BMAKELIB_DIR.
  • Subsequent runs hit the local cache. Delete BMAKELIB_DIR to reset.

Module Catalogue

Explore the individual module documentation and practical recipes:

Core Modules

  • bmakelib Orchestration: Core library initialisation, constants, and runtime version introspection.
  • help: Automated, scope-aware help system for targets and variables.

Validation

  • error-if-blank: Abort the build if mandatory variables or arguments are omitted.
  • default-if-blank: Assign sensible fallback defaults to unset variables.
  • enum: Restrict variable values to a defined set of permitted options.

Data Structures

  • dict: In-memory key-value maps and dictionaries within GNU Make.

Observability & Execution

  • timed: High-precision benchmarking and execution timing for targets.
  • logged: Structured logging with configurable timestamps and severity levels.

System Utilities

  • shell: Robust subshell execution with error handling.

Installation & Compatibility

  • System-Wide Installation: Optional global installation via Homebrew, pre-built DEB/RPM packages, or compiled from source.
  • Prerequisites: Requires GNU Make 4.4+ (released in 2022).