Making a Java Makefile

Question

EDIT: Essentially, I am trying to do the same thing as typing "javac sim.java" and then "java sim (commands)". Is there a way to replace this using a makefile?

So I have looked at a lot of examples online and tried to modify them to what I need, but nothing has worked. I need a makefile so that my teacher can create my project just by typing "make" into terminal (this is a requirement of the project for some reason). My end goal is to be able to type "sim" followed by the required commands as defined by my code. The code runs in eclipse, but I can't get it to run using these commands in terminal. It will make the file, but it says "sim: command not found" when I try to type "sim....(arguments)" into terminal. I'm sure this is a dumb question but we have not learned about this in school and I have no experience with Makefile.

Below is my makefile.

JFLAGS = -g
JC = javac
OPT = -O3
#OPT = -g
WARN = -Wall

sim: sim.class

sim.class: sim.java
    $(JC) $(JFLAGS) sim.java

clean:
    $(RM) sim.class

clobber:
    $(RM) sim.class

Answer 1

Using make with java can be an exercise in driving screws with a hammer as soon as you have more than one class.

Working java code will use packages. So you'll have a complex directory tree that mirrors your package structure, with your .java source files in it. Writing make rules that 'see' all those files is a pain.

You should invoke javac on all your source files at the same time to get correct results. So, the usual make pattern of 'run one command to turn one source file into one compiled file' does not work so well.

However, it seems as if your main problem at the moment is that you expect java to produce an executable; a file with a name like 'sim'. Nope, not going to happen in any simple way. The java compiler produces .class files; a whole tree of them for your source files. You can run directly from them, or you can package them up in a JAR file.

To get all the way to something that appears to be a simple command line executable, you need to use a more complex tool that wraps all this up with a script on the front.

For now, you just need to do:

java -cp . NAME_OF_THE_CLASS_IN_sim.java

to run after your makefile completes.

Answer 2

For a simple project without many files or dependencies, I simply use scripts.

To build:

javac -cp .;* *.java

To run:

java -cp .;* SomeMainClass

Replace . with whatever path(s) you need for your source. The * will use any jar on the default path or use a different path like lib/*.

Answer 3

make executes a recipe by executing its dependencies, then the recipe itself. Therefore if you add a command which runs your compiled code to the top recipe, typing 'make' will also run the code after it is compiled. I cannot believe how many people do not know this!

Something like:

sim: sim.class
    java sim

Will do what your tutor requires.