Makefile Doc Tool

Makefile Doc Tool a command-line utility designed to simplify and enhance the usability of your Makefiles. It parses your Makefile to extract targets, dependencies, and comments, and then appends a self-documenting help target to make your Makefile user-friendly and easy to understand.

Features

• Automatic Target Parsing: Extracts Makefile targets along with their dependencies and descriptions.
• Self-Documenting help Target: Adds a standardized help target for better Makefile documentation.
• Cross-Platform Compatibility: Works on Linux, macOS, and Windows.
• Robust Error Handling: Ensures smooth operation with meaningful error messages.

Usage

1. Compile the C++ source code:

   g++ -std=c++17 -o Makefile-doc Makefile_doc.cpp

2. Run the compiled binary:

   ./Makefile_doc <path_to_makefile>

Example

Input Makefile

build: # Build the project
	@echo "Building the project..."

test: build # Run tests
	@echo "Running tests..."

clean: # Clean the project
	rm -rf build/
	@echo "Project cleaned."

Output Makefile

After running the tool:

build: # Build the project
	@echo "Building the project..."

test: build # Run tests
	@echo "Running tests..."

clean: # Clean the project
	rm -rf build/
	@echo "Project cleaned."

.DEFAULT_GOAL = help

help: # Print help on Makefile
	@echo "Please use 'make <target>' where <target> is one of"
	@echo ""
	@echo "   33[93mbuild 33[0m	Build the project []"
	@echo "   33[93mtest 33[0m	Run tests [build]"
	@echo "   33[93mclean 33[0m	Clean the project []"
	@echo ""
	@echo "Check the Makefile to know exactly what each target is doing."

Running make help

$ make help
Please use 'make <target>' where <target> is one of

  build	Build the project []
  test	Run tests [build]
  clean	Clean the project []

Check the Makefile to know exactly what each target is doing.