The GNU Make tool is used by coders to generate executables from program source code. From No Starch Press John Graham-Cumming's GNU Make Book (256 pages, US$34.95) is the first new GNU Make book in 10 years.

"The GNU Make Book" (http://tinyurl.com/o4ytgzz) aims to demystify GNU Make. Readers will find a thorough rundown of the basics like variables, rules, targets, and makefiles as well as detailed information on how to fix long build times and use more advanced capabilities like complex pattern rules.

The book's easygoing, tutorial-like approach to problem solving is designed to help users take advantage of what's great about GNU Make. The book shows readers how to:

° Master user-defined functions, variables, and path handling;

° Weigh the pitfalls and advantages of GNU Make parallelization;

° Handle automatic dependency generation, rebuilding, and non-recursive make;

° Modify the GNU Make source and take advantage of the GNU Make Standard Library;

° Create makefile assertions and debug makefiles.

Graham-Cumming is a longtime GNU Make expert. He wrote the machine learning–based POPFile email filter and successfully petitioned the British government to apologize for its treatment of Alan Turing. Graham-Cumming holds a doctorate in computer security from Oxford University and works at CloudFlare.