Jambase Reference

Jambase is a base set of Jam rules which provide roughly make(1)-like functionality for jam, the Jam executable program. This document, which started out as the Jambase(5) man page, is a reference guide to the rules, pseudotargets, and variables defined in Jambase for use in Jamfiles.

For further information see:

Jam documentation and source are available from the Perforce Public Depot.
For detailed information about any of the rules summarized below, see the Jambase file itself.

Jambase Rules

ToDo: makeString, makeDirName, Archive, ShrLibrary, Libs, etc.

Always target target ... ; builtin

Always build these targets. Jambase example:
Always clean uninstall ;

Archive library : sources ;

Compiles sources and archives the targets into the archive library. The intermediate objects are deleted. Calls Objects and ArchiveFromObjects.

If Library is invoked with no suffix on library, the $(SUFLIB) suffix is used.
If Library is invoked with a suffix on library, it is corrected to the platform $(SUFLIB).
ToDo: Is the "lib" prefix added? Ignored? What name is used in the link flag (-l) ?

As obj.o : source.s ;

Assemble the file source.s. Called by the Object rule.

Bulk directory : sources ;

Copies sources into directory.

Cc object : source ;

Compile the file source into object, using the C compiler $(CC), its flags $(CCFLAGS) and $(OPTIM), and the header file directories $(HDRS). Called by the Object rule.

CcFlags flags ; Not implemented.

C++ obj.o : source.cpp ;

Compile the C++ source file source.cpp. Called by the Object rule.

C++Flags flags ; Not implemented.

Chmod target ;

(Unix only.) Change file permissions on target to target-specific $(MODE) value set by Link, File, Install*, and Shell rules.

Clean clean : targets ;

Removes existing targets when clean is built. clean is not a dependency of all, and must be built explicitly for targets to be removed.

Defines names ;

Add names to the list of preprocessor defines to variable DEFINES.

Depends targets1 : targets2 ; builtin

Builds a direct dependency. Each of targets1 depend on each of targets2.
targets1 will be rebuilt if targets2 are rebuilt or are newer than targets1.
Jambase examples:
Depends all : shell files lib exe obj ;
Depends all shell files lib exe obj : first ;

Echo args ; builtin

Blurts out message args to stdout.

Exit args ; builtin

Blurts out message args, and exits with a failure status.

FDefines defines ;

Expands a list of definitions into a list of compiler (or preprocessor) switches (such as -Dsymbol=val on Unix) to pass the definitions.

File target : source ;

Copies source into target.

FAppendSuffix f1 f2 ... : $(SUF) ;

Return $(<) with suffixes. Example:
FAppendSuffix yacc lex foo.bat : $(SUFEXE) ;
returns (yacc.exe,lex.exe,foo.bat) on Windows.
returns (yacc, lex, foo.bat) on Unix

FDefines ... ;

Unknown

FDirName d1 d2 ... ;

Return path from root to dir. d1/d2 on unix; d1\d2 on windows.

FGrist d1 d2 ... ;

Return d1!d2!

FGristFiles value ;

Return $(value:G=$(SOURCE_GRIST))

FGristSourceFiles value ;

Return source file name with grist in it. Leave headers alone.
$(value:G=$(SOURCE_GRIST))

FDirName dirs ;

Describe ???

FIncludes dirs ;

Expands a list of directories into a list of compiler (or preprocessor) switches (such as -Idir on Unix) to add the directories to the header inclusion search path.

FQuote files ;

Returns each of files suitably quoted so as to hide shell metacharacters (such as whitespace and filename matching wildcards) from the shell.

FRelPath d1 : d2 ;

Return relative path from d1 to d2.

FReverse a1 a2 a3 ;

Return a3 a2 a1.

FStripCommon v1 : v2 ;

Strip common inital parts of v1 v2.

FSubDir d1 d2 ... ; deprecated ?

Return path to named directory.

FSubDirPath d1 d2 ... ;

If jam is invoked in a subdirectory of TOP, then ../ is prepended to every level.

GenFile target : image sources ;

Runs the command "image target sources" to create target from sources and image. (where image is an executable built by the Main rule.)

GenFile1 target : image sources ;

Runs without setting up Clean or Depends rules.

Glob directories : patterns ; builtin

Scans directories for files matching regex patterns, returning the list of matching files with directory prepended. Useful with the [...] construct to change the Glob result into a list.

HardLink target : source ;

Makes target a hard link to source, if it isn't one already. (Unix only.)

HdrRule source : headers ;

Arranges the proper dependencies when the file source includes the files headers through the "#include" C preprocessor directive.

This rule is not intended to be called explicitly. It is called automatically during header scanning on sources handled by the Object rule (e.g., sources in Main or Library rules).

Includes targets1 : targets2 ; builtin

Builds a siebling dependency. Any target that depends on targets1 will also depend on targets2.
Such dependencies arise when one source file includes another.

InstallBin dir : sources ;

Copy sources into dir with mode $(EXEMODE).

InstallFile dir : sources ;

Copy sources into dir with mode $(FILEMODE).

InstallInto dir : sources ;

Copy sources into dir with Chmod, Chown, Chgrp. Utility rule.

InstallLib dir : sources ;

Copy sources into dir with mode $(FILEMODE).

InstallMan dir : sources ;

Copy sources into the appropriate subdirectory of dir with mode $(FILEMODE). The subdirectory is mans, where s is the suffix of each of sources.

InstallShell dir : sources ;

Copy sources into dir with mode $(SHELLMODE).

InstallShr dir : sources ;

Copy sources into dir with mode $(SHRMODE).

Leaves ... ; builtin

Leaves the innermost loop.

Lex source.c : source.l ;

Process the lex(1) source file source.l and rename the lex.yy.c to source.c. Called by the Object rule.

Library library : sources ;

Compiles sources and builds a shared library. The intermediate objects are deleted. Calls Objects and LibraryFromObjects.

If Library is invoked with no suffix on library, the $(SUFLIB) suffix is used.
If Library is invoked with a suffix on library, it is corrected to the platform $(SUFLIB).
ToDo: Is the "lib" prefix added? Ignored? What name is used in the link flag (-l) ?

LibraryFromObjects library : objects ;

Archives objects into library. The objects are then deleted.

If library has no suffix, the $(SUFLIB) suffix is used.

Libs image : libraries ;

Make image depend on libraries and include them during the linking.
image may be referenced without a suffix in this rule invocation; Libs supplies the suffix or adjusts the suffix supplied for the current platform. (Rule was LinkLibraries).

LibFlags flag1 flag2 ;

Modifies LINKFLAGS in a compiler independent way.

Link image : objects ;

Links image from objects and sets permissions on image to $(EXEMODE). Image must be actual filename; suffix is not supplied. Called by Main.

LinkFlags flags ;

Main image : sources ;

Compiles sources and links them into image. Calls Objects and MainFromObjects.

image may be referenced without a suffix in this rule invocation; Main supplies the suffix or adjust the suffix supplied for the current platform.

MainFromObjects image : objects ;

Links objects into image. Dependency of exe. MainFromObjects supplies the suffix on image filename.

MakeLocate target : dir ;

Creates dir and causes target to be built into dir.

Match regexps : list ; builtin

Matches the egrep style regular expression regexps against the strings in list. Result is the concatenation of matching subexpressions for each string in list. Useful with [ ] to change result into a list.

MkDir dir ;

Creates dir and its parent directories.

NoCare target ... ; builtin

Don't panic if the target cannot be built.

NotFile target ... ; builtin

Ignore the timestamp of the target; it is not a file.

NoUpdate target ... ; builtin

Create the target if needed, but never update it.

Object object : source ;

Compiles a single source file source into object. The Main and Library rules use this rule to compile source files.

Causes source to be scanned for "#include" directives and calls HdrRule to make all included files dependencies of object.

Calls one of the following rules to do the actual compiling, depending on the suffix of source:
		     *.c:   Cc 
		     *.cc:  C++ 
		     *.cpp: C++
		     *.cxx: C++
		     *.C:   C++ 
		     *.l:   Lex 
		     *.y:   Yacc
		     *.*:   UserObject

ObjectC++Flags source : flags ;
ObjectCcFlags source : flags ;

Add flags to the source-specific value of $(CCFLAGS) or $(C++FLAGS) when compiling source. Any file suffix on source is ignored.

ObjectDefines object : defines ;

Adds preprocessor symbol definitions to the (gristed) target-specific $(CCDEFS) for the object.

ObjectHdrs source : dirs ;

Add dirs to the source-specific value of $(HDRS) when scanning and compiling source. Any file suffix on source is ignored.

Objects sources ;

For each source file in sources, calls Object to compile the source file into a similarly named object file.

Resource targets : sources ;

Invokes the resource compiler to build target.

RmTemps targets : sources ;

Marks sources as temporary with the Temporary rule, and deletes sources once targets are built. Must be the last rule invoked on targets. Used internally by LibraryFromObjects rule.

Setuid images ;

Sets the setuid bit on each of images after linking. (Unix only.)

Shell image : source ;

Copies source into the executable sh(1) script image. Ensures that the first line of the script is $(SHELLHEADER) (default #!/bin/sh).

SoftLink target : source ;

Makes target a symbolic link to source, if it isn't one already. (Unix only.)

SubDir TOP d1 ... dn ;

Sets up housekeeping for the source files located in $(TOP)/d1/.../dn:

TOP is the name of a variable; d1 thru dn are elements of a directory path.
Reads in rules file associated with TOP, if it hasn't already been read.
Initializes variables for search paths, output directories, compiler flags, and grist, using d1 ... dn tokens.
If TOP is not defined, relative path directories are used

SubDirC++Flags flags ;
SubDirCcFlags flags ;

Adds flags to the compiler flags for source files in SubDir's directory.

SubDirDefines f1 f2 ... ;

Directory dependent compiler macro definitions.

SubDirHdrs d1 ... dn ;

Adds the path d1/.../dn/ to the header search paths for source files in SubDir's directory. d1 through dn are elements of a directory path.

SubInclude VAR d1 ... dn ;

Reads the Jamfile in $(VAR)/d1/.../dn/.

SubRules TOP d1 ... dn : Other-TOP ;

Reads another tree's Jamrules.

Temporary target ... ; builtin

Target need not be present if sources haven't changed.

Unique images : flags ; (to be implemented)

Adds flags to images, if it does not already exist.
Useful for setting compiler flags, without getting duplicates.

Undefines images : symbols ;

Adds flags to mark symbols as undefined on link command for images. Images may be referenced unsuffixed; the Undefines rule supplies the suffix.

UserObject object : source ;

This rule is called by Object for source files with unknown suffixes, and should be defined in Jamrules with a user-provided rule to handle the source file types not handled by the Object rule. The Jambase UserObject rule merely issues a complaint when it encounters source with file suffixes it does not recognize.

Yacc source.c : source.y ;

Process the yacc(1) file source.y and renamed the resulting y.tab.c and y.tab.h to source.c. Produces a y.tab.h and renames it to source.h. Called by the Object rule.

Jambase Pseudotargets

There are two kinds of Jam targets: file targets and pseudotargets. File targets are objects that can be found in the filesystem. Pseudotargets are symbolic, defined by NotFile rule and usually represent other targets. Most Jambase rules that define file targets also define pseudotargets which are dependent on types of file targets. A pseudotarget is created by the NotFile rule.
The Jambase pseudotargets are:

all
Default target

clean
Remove built targets (except files copied by Install rules)

dirs
Directories where target files are written

files
Files copied by File and Bulk rules

first
first dependent of 'all', for initialization

exe
Executables linked by Main or MainFromObjects rules

install
Files copied by Install rules

lib
Libraries copied by the Library or LibraryFromObjects rules

obj
Compiled objects used to create Main or Library targets

shell
Files copied by Shell rule

uninstall
Remove targets copied by Install rules

In addition, Jambase makes the jam default target "all" depend on "exe", "lib", "obj", "files", and "shell".

Modifiers on actions:

together
multiple instances of same rule on target get executed once with their sources ($(>)) catenated

updated
refers to updated sources only $(>)

ignore
ignore return status of command

quietly
don't trace execution unless verbose

piecemeal
iterate command each time with small subset of $(>)

existing
refers to currently existing sources only $(>)

bind vars
subject to binding before expanding in actions

Jam Variable Modifiers

Variable Modifiers

[n] Select element number n (starting at 1). If the variable contains fewer than n elements, the result is a zero-element list.

[n-m] Select elements number n through m.

[n-] Select elements number n through the last.

:chars Select the components listed in chars.

:B Select filename base.

:B=base Replace the base part of file name with base

:BS=base.suffix Base and suffix of the variable (without directory).

:D Select directory path.

:D=path Replace directory with path.

:E If VAR is unset, $(VAR:E) is a list containing a single null string.

:E=value Use value instead if the variable is unset.

:G Select grist.

:G=grist Replace grist with grist.

:J=joinval Concatenate list elements into single element, separated by joinval.

:L Replace uppercase characters with lowercase.

:M Select archive member name.

:M=mem Replace the archive member name with mem.

:P Select parent directory.

:R=root Prepend root to the whole file name, if not already rooted.

:S Select (last) filename suffix.

:S=suf Replace the suffix of file name with suf.

:U Replace lowercase characters with uppercase.

**Variable Modifiers**
`[n]`	Select element number n (starting at 1). If the variable contains fewer than n elements, the result is a zero-element list.
`[n-m]`	Select elements number n through m.
`[n-]`	Select elements number n through the last.
`:chars`	Select the components listed in chars.
`:B`	Select filename base.
`:B=base`	Replace the base part of file name with base
`:BS=base.suffix`	Base and suffix of the variable (without directory).
`:D`	Select directory path.
`:D=path`	Replace directory with path.
`:E`	If VAR is unset, $(VAR:E) is a list containing a single null string.
`:E=value`	Use value instead if the variable is unset.
`:G`	Select grist.
`:G=grist`	Replace grist with grist.
`:J=joinval`	Concatenate list elements into single element, separated by joinval.
`:L`	Replace uppercase characters with lowercase.
`:M`	Select archive member name.
`:M=mem`	Replace the archive member name with mem.
`:P`	Select parent directory.
`:R=root`	Prepend root to the whole file name, if not already rooted.
`:S`	Select (last) filename suffix.
`:S=suf`	Replace the suffix of file name with suf.
`:U`	Replace lowercase characters with uppercase.

$(var:P) is the parent directory of $(var:D).

Jambase Variables

Most of the following variables have default values for each platform; refer to the Jambase file to see what those defaults are.

ToDo: What about JAMDATE, JAMUNAME, JAMVERSION, JAMSHELL, JAMUSER

ALL_LOCATE_TARGET

Alternative location of built targets. By default, Jambase rules locate built targets in the source tree. By setting $(ALL_LOCATE_TARGET) in Jamrules, you can cause jam to write built targets to a location outside the source tree.

The archive command used to update Library and LibraryFromObjects targets.

The assembler for As rule targets.

ASFLAGS

Flags handed to the assembler for As.

AWK

The name of awk interpreter, used when copying a shell script for the Shell rule.

BINDIR

Local bin directory. /usr/local/bin

C compiler used for Cc rule targets.

CCFLAGS

Compile flags for Cc rule targets. The Cc rule sets target-specific $(CCFLAGS) values on its targets.

C++

C++ compiler used for C++ rule targets.

C++FLAGS

Compile flags for C++ rule targets. The C++ rule sets target-specific $(C++FLAGS) values on its targets.

CHMOD

Program (usually chmod(1)) used to set file permissions for Chmod rule.

The file copy program, used by File and Install* rules.

CRELIB (deprecated)

If set, causes the Library rule to invoke the CreLib rule on the target library before attempting to archive any members, so that the library can be created if needed.

DEFINES

Preprocessor symbol definitions for Cc and C++ rule targets. The Cc and C++ rules set target-specific $(CCDEFS) values on their targets, based on $(DEFINES). (The "indirection" here is required to support compilers with baroque command line syntax for setting symbols).

DOT

The operating system-specific name for the current directory.

DOTDOT

The operating system-specific name for the parent directory.

EXEMODE

Permissions for executables linked with Link, Main, and MainFromObjects, on platforms with a Chmod action.

FILEMODE

Permissions for files copied by File or Bulk, on platforms with a Chmod action.

GROUP

(Unix only.) The group owner for Install* rule targets.

HDRGRIST

If set, used by the HdrRule to distinguish header files with the same name in different directories.

HDRPATTERN

A regular expression pattern that matches C preprocessor "#include" directives in source files and returns the name of the included file.
HDRSCAN = "^[ \t]*#[ \t]*include[ \t]*[<\\"]([^\\">]*)[\\">].*$" ;

HDRRULE

Name of the rule to invoke with the results of header file scanning. Default is "HdrRule".

This is a jam-special variable. If both HDRRULE and HDRSCAN are set on a target, that target will be scanned for lines matching $(HDRSCAN), and $(HDDRULE) will be invoked on included files found in the matching $(HDRSCAN) lines.

HDRS

Directories to be searched for header files. This is used by the Object rule to:

set up search paths for finding files returned by header scans
add -I flags on compile commands

(See STDHDRS.)

HDRSCAN

Regular expression pattern to use for header file scanning. The Object rule sets this to $(HDRPATTERN). This is a jam-special variable; see HDRRULE.

HDRSEARCH

Used by the HdrRule to fix the list of directories where header files can be found for a given source file.

INSTALLGRIST

Used by the Install* rules to grist paths to installed files; defaults to "installed".

JAMDATE

Time and Date at jam startup.

JAMUNAME

Output of uname(1) command (Unix only, but why? It's in Win).

JAMVERSION

Jam version, reported by jam -v.

JAMSHELL

Shell invocation control when Jam invokes an action block.
JAMSHELL = "/bin/sh -c %" on unix.

JAMUSER

Username that invoked jam.

JAMFILE

Default is "Jamfile"; the name of the user-written rules file found in each source directory.

JAMRULES

Default is "Jamrules"; the name of a rule definition file to be read in at the first SubDir rule invocation.

KEEPOBJS

If set, tells the LibraryFromObjects rule not to delete object files once they are archived.

LEX

The lex(1) command and flags.

LIBDIR

Local library directory for installs. Default: /usr/local/lib or $(MSVCDIR)\\lib

LINK

The linker. Defaults to $(CC).

LINKFLAGS

Flags handed to the linker. Defaults to $(CCFLAGS).

LINKLIBS

List of external libraries to link with. The target image does not depend on these libraries.
Windows:
$(LIBDIR)\\libc.lib
$(LIBDIR)\\oldnames.lib
$(LIBDIR)\\kernel32.lib ;

Unix: ... none yet. libc, libpthreads, libdl ...

The hard link command for HardLink rule.

LOCATE

Where to plop something not found with SEARCH.

LOCATE_SOURCE

Used to set the location of generated source files. The Yacc, Lex, and GenFile rules set LOCATE on their targets to $(LOCATE_SOURCE). $(LOCATE_SOURCE) is initialized by the SubDir rule to the source directory itself. (see ALL_LOCATE_TARGET.)

LOCATE_TARGET

Used to set the location of built binary targets. The Object rule, and hence the Main and Library rules, set LOCATE on their targets to $(LOCATE_TARGET). $(LOCATE_TARGET) is initialized by the SubDir rule to the source directory itself. (See ALL_LOCATE_TARGET.)

MANDIR

Default directory for man pages. Default: /usr/local/man .

MKDIR

The 'create directory' command used for the MkDir rule.

MODE

The target-specific file mode (permissions) for targets of the Shell, Setuid, Link, and Install* rules. Used by the Chmod action; hence relevant to NT only.

MSVCDIR

Selects Microsoft Visual C NT 6.0 and later compile & link actions on NT.

The file rename command and options.

NEEDLIBS

The list of libraries used when linking an executable. Used by the Link rule.

NOARSCAN

If set, indicates that library members' timestamps can't be found, and prevents the individual objects from being deleted, so that their timestamps can be used instead.

NOARUPDATE

If set, indicates that libraries can't be updated, but only created whole.

OPTIM

The C compiler flag for optimization, used by Cc and C++ rules.

$(OS) contains the platform ($(NT), $(AIX), $(HPUX), $(SOLARIS), etc). Useful in switch statements.
switch $(OS) {
case NT : stmt1 ; stmt2 ;
case AIX : stmt1 ; stmt2 ;
}

OSPLAT

Type of hardware platform ( VAX, PPC, AXP, X86, SPARC, MIPS, ARM, IA64, 390)

OSFULL

The concatenation of $(OS)$(OSVER)$(OSPLAT), used when jam builds itself to determine the target binary directory. $(OS) and $(OSPLAT) are determined by jam at its compile time (in jam.h). $(OSVER) can optionally be set by the user.

OWNER

The owner of installed files. Used by Install* rules.

RANLIB

The name of the ranlib command. If set, causes the Ranlib action to be applied after the Archive action to targets of the Library rule.

Resource Compiler command.

RCP

Remote copy command.

The command and options to remove a file.

RMDIR

The command and options to remove a directory.

RSH

Remote Shell Command.

Where to find something; used during binding and actions.

SEARCH_SOURCE

The directory to find sources listed with Main, Library, Object, Bulk, File, Shell, InstallBin, InstallLib, and InstallMan rules. This works by setting the jam-special variable SEARCH to the value of $(SEARCH_SOURCE) for each of the rules' sources. The SubDir rule initializes SEARCH_SOURCE for each directory.

SED

Shell editor command..

SHELLHEADER

A string inserted to the first line of every file created by the Shell rule.

SHELLMODE

Permissions for files installed by Shell rule.

SLASH

Directory separator character. (/) on unix; (\) on windows..

SOURCE_GRIST

Set by the SubDir to a value derived from the directory name, and used by Objects and related rules as 'grist' to perturb file names.

STDHDRS

Directories where headers can be found without resorting to using the flag to the C compiler. The $(STDHDRS) directories are used to find headers during scanning, but are not passed to the compiler commands as -I paths.
$(MSVCDIR)\\include on windows.

SUBDIR

The path from the current directory to the directory last named by the SubDir rule.

SUBDIRRESET

Flags to manage on changing directories. Jambase example:
SUBDIRRESET ?= ASFLAGS HDRS C++FLAGS CCFLAGS ;

SUBDIRRULES

Unknown.

SUFDLL

The suffix for shared libraries. Used by Library and Archive rules.
.so on unix; .dll on windows.

SUFEXE

The suffix for executable files, if none provided. Used by the Main rule.
.exe on windows; null on unix.

SUFILK (unneeded. No unix counterpart)

The suffix for xxx files. .ilk on windows.

SUFLIB

The suffix for archive libraries. Used by Library and Archive rules.
.a on unix. .lib on windows.

SUFOBJ

The suffix for object files. Used by the Objects and related rules.
.obj on windows; .o on unix.

SUFPDB (unneeded. No unix counterpart)

The suffix for xxx files. .pdb on windows.

TOP

The path from the current directory to the directory that has the Jamrules file. Used by the SubDir rule.

UNDEFFLAG

The flag prefixed to each symbol for the Undefines rule (i.e., the compiler flag for undefined symbols). "-u _" on windows; "-u" on unix.

UNIX

$(UNIX) is true, if on a Unix platform.

YACC

The yacc(1) command.

YACCFILES

The base filename generated by yacc(1).

YACCFLAGS

The yacc(1) command flags.

YACCGEN

The suffix used on generated yacc(1) output.

Jam Language

Statements

rule Rule
statements to process a rule

actions Rule
system commands for target update

Modifiers on actions:

together
multiple instances of same rule on target get executed once with their sources ($(>)) catenated

updated
refers to updated sources only $(>)

ignore
ignore return status of command

quietly
don't trace execution unless verbose

piecemeal
iterate command each time with small subset of $(>)

existing
refers to currently existing sources only $(>)

bind vars
subject to binding before expanding in actions

Special Rules:

Always
always build a target

Depends
builds dependency graph. Appends each source on the dependency list of each target. Binds both targets and sources as TARGETs.

Echo
blurt out targets on stdout

Exit
blurt out tarets and exit

Includes
marks source as headers for target (codependency)

Leaves

NoCare
don't panic if target can't be built

NoUpdate
create target if needed; never update it

NotFile
ignore timestamp of target (it's not a file)

Temporary
target need not be present if sources haven't changed

Special Variables set by Jam:

$(<)
targets of rule (to left of : )

$(>)
sources of rule (to the right of : )

$(xxx)
true on xxx (UNIX, NT, AIX, HPUX, SOLARIS)

$(OS)
name of Operating System

$(JAMVERSION)
version number 2.5a

Special Variables used by Jam:

SEARCH
where to find something (used during binding and actions)

LOCATE
where to plop something not found with SEARCH

HDRRULE
rule to handle include files

HDRSCAN
egrep regex to extract include files

Jam rules

Special targets:

all
parent of first, shell, files, lib, exe
(default if jam command line targets are not supplied)

first
first dependent of 'all', for potential initialization

shell
all Shell targets

files
all File targets

lib
all Library targets

exe
all Main targets

dirs
all MkDir targets

clean
remove all Shell, File, Library, Main targets

uninstall
remove all Install targets

Jam Built-In Rules:

As
As obj.o : source.s ; .s -> .o

Bulk
Bulk dir : files ; populate directory with many files

Cc
Cc obj.o : source.c ; .c -> .o

C++
C++ obj.o : source.cc ; .cpp -> .o

Clean
Clean clean : sources ; remove source targets with 'jam clean'

File
File dest : source ; copy file

GenFile
GenFile source.c : program args ; make custom file

Glob
Glob directories : patterns ; Scans directories for files matching regex patterns, returning the list of matching files.

HardLink
HardLink target : source ; make link from source to target

HdrRule
HdrRule source : headers ; handle #includes

InstallInto
InstallInto dir : sources ; install any files

InstallBin
InstallBin dir : sources ; install binaries

InstallLib
InstallLib dir : sources ; install library files

InstallFile
InstallFile dir : sources ; install files

InstallMan
InstallMan dir : sources ; install man pages

InstallShell
InstallShell dir : sources ; install shell scripts

Lex
Lex source.c : source.l ; .l -> .o

Library
Library lib : source ; archive library from source

LibraryFromObjects
LibraryFromObjects lib : objects ; archive library from objects

Libs
Libs images : libraries ; dependency on libraries

Main
Main image : source ; link executable from source

MainFromObjects
MainFromObjects image : objects ; link executable from objects

Match
Match regexps : list ; Match regular expression regexps against strings in list.

MkDir
MkDir dir ; make directory

Object
Object object : source ; compile object from source

ObjectCcFlags
ObjectCcFlags source : flags ; c compiler flags for source

ObjectC++Flags
ObjectC++Flags source : flags ; c++ compiler flags for source

ObjectHdrs
ObjectHdrs source : dirs ; include directories for source

Objects
Objects sources ; compile sources

RmTemps
RmTemps target : sources ; remove temp sources after target made

Setuid
Setuid images ; mark executables suid

SoftLink
SoftLink target : source ; make symlink

SubDir
SubDir TOP d1 d2 ... ; start subdirectory Jamfile

SubDirCcFlags
SubDirCcFlags flags ; c compiler flags until next SubDir

SubDirC++Flags
SubDirC++Flags flags ; c++ compiler flags until next SubDir

SubDirHdrs
SubDirHdrs d1 d2 ... ; include directory until next SubDir

SubInclude
SubInclude TOP d1 d2 ... ; Include subdirectory Jamfile

Shell
Shell exe : source ; make a shell executable

Undefines
Undefines images : symbols ; save undef's for linking

UserObject
UserObject object : source ; handle unknown suffixes for object

Yacc
Yacc source.c : source.y ; .y -> .c

all	Default target
clean	Remove built targets (except files copied by Install rules)
dirs	Directories where target files are written
files	Files copied by File and Bulk rules
first	first dependent of 'all', for initialization
exe	Executables linked by Main or MainFromObjects rules
install	Files copied by Install rules
lib	Libraries copied by the Library or LibraryFromObjects rules
obj	Compiled objects used to create Main or Library targets
shell	Files copied by Shell rule
uninstall	Remove targets copied by Install rules

together	multiple instances of same rule on target get executed once with their sources ($(>)) catenated
updated	refers to updated sources only $(>)
ignore	ignore return status of command
quietly	don't trace execution unless verbose
piecemeal	iterate command each time with small subset of $(>)
existing	refers to currently existing sources only $(>)
bind vars	subject to binding before expanding in actions

rule Rule	statements to process a rule
actions Rule	system commands for target update

Always	always build a target
Depends	builds dependency graph. Appends each source on the dependency list of each target. Binds both targets and sources as TARGETs.
Echo	blurt out targets on stdout
Exit	blurt out tarets and exit
Includes	marks source as headers for target (codependency)
Leaves
NoCare	don't panic if target can't be built
NoUpdate	create target if needed; never update it
NotFile	ignore timestamp of target (it's not a file)
Temporary	target need not be present if sources haven't changed

$(<)	targets of rule (to left of : )
$(>)	sources of rule (to the right of : )
$(xxx)	true on xxx (UNIX, NT, AIX, HPUX, SOLARIS)
$(OS)	name of Operating System
$(JAMVERSION)	version number 2.5a

SEARCH	where to find something (used during binding and actions)
LOCATE	where to plop something not found with SEARCH
HDRRULE	rule to handle include files
HDRSCAN	egrep regex to extract include files

all	parent of first, shell, files, lib, exe (default if jam command line targets are not supplied)
first	first dependent of 'all', for potential initialization
shell	all Shell targets
files	all File targets
lib	all Library targets
exe	all Main targets
dirs	all MkDir targets
clean	remove all Shell, File, Library, Main targets
uninstall	remove all Install targets

As	As obj.o : source.s ;	.s -> .o
Bulk	Bulk dir : files ;	populate directory with many files
Cc	Cc obj.o : source.c ;	.c -> .o
C++	C++ obj.o : source.cc ;	.cpp -> .o
Clean	Clean clean : sources ;	remove source targets with 'jam clean'
File	File dest : source ;	copy file
GenFile	GenFile source.c : program args ;	make custom file
Glob	Glob directories : patterns ;	Scans directories for files matching regex patterns, returning the list of matching files.
HardLink	HardLink target : source ;	make link from source to target
HdrRule	HdrRule source : headers ;	handle #includes
InstallInto	InstallInto dir : sources ;	install any files
InstallBin	InstallBin dir : sources ;	install binaries
InstallLib	InstallLib dir : sources ;	install library files
InstallFile	InstallFile dir : sources ;	install files
InstallMan	InstallMan dir : sources ;	install man pages
InstallShell	InstallShell dir : sources ;	install shell scripts
Lex	Lex source.c : source.l ;	.l -> .o
Library	Library lib : source ;	archive library from source
LibraryFromObjects	LibraryFromObjects lib : objects ;	archive library from objects
Libs	Libs images : libraries ;	dependency on libraries
Main	Main image : source ;	link executable from source
MainFromObjects	MainFromObjects image : objects ;	link executable from objects
Match	Match regexps : list ;	Match regular expression regexps against strings in list.
MkDir	MkDir dir ;	make directory
Object	Object object : source ;	compile object from source
ObjectCcFlags	ObjectCcFlags source : flags ;	c compiler flags for source
ObjectC++Flags	ObjectC++Flags source : flags ;	c++ compiler flags for source
ObjectHdrs	ObjectHdrs source : dirs ;	include directories for source
Objects	Objects sources ;	compile sources
RmTemps	RmTemps target : sources ;	remove temp sources after target made
Setuid	Setuid images ;	mark executables suid
SoftLink	SoftLink target : source ;	make symlink
SubDir	SubDir TOP d1 d2 ... ;	start subdirectory Jamfile
SubDirCcFlags	SubDirCcFlags flags ;	c compiler flags until next SubDir
SubDirC++Flags	SubDirC++Flags flags ;	c++ compiler flags until next SubDir
SubDirHdrs	SubDirHdrs d1 d2 ... ;	include directory until next SubDir
SubInclude	SubInclude TOP d1 d2 ... ;	Include subdirectory Jamfile
Shell	Shell exe : source ;	make a shell executable
Undefines	Undefines images : symbols ;	save undef's for linking
UserObject	UserObject object : source ;	handle unknown suffixes for object
Yacc	Yacc source.c : source.y ;	.y -> .c