Skip to content

Platform Setup

Guide Fit

flowchart TD
  family["Reproducible Research"] --> program["Deep Dive Make"]
  program --> pressure["A concrete learner or reviewer question"]
  pressure --> guide["Platform Setup"]
  guide --> next["Modules, capstone, and reference surfaces"]
flowchart TD
  question["Name the exact question you need answered"] --> skim["Skim only the sections that match that pressure"]
  skim --> crosscheck["Open the linked module, proof surface, or capstone route"]
  crosscheck --> next_move["Leave with one next decision, page, or command"]

Read the first diagram as a timing map: this guide is for a named pressure, not for wandering the whole course-book. Read the second diagram as the guide loop: arrive with a concrete question, use only the matching sections, then leave with one smaller and more honest next move.

Read the first diagram as a timing map: this guide is for a named pressure, not for wandering the whole course-book. Read the second diagram as the guide loop: arrive with a concrete question, use only the matching sections, then leave with one smaller and more honest next move.

Read the first diagram as a timing map: this guide is for a named pressure, not for wandering the whole course-book. Read the second diagram as the guide loop: arrive with a concrete question, use only the matching sections, then leave with one smaller and more honest next move.

Deep Dive Make depends on GNU Make semantics, not merely on the presence of a make binary. This page makes the platform contract explicit before the learner hits avoidable tooling failures.

Minimum Tooling

You need:

  • GNU Make 4.3 or newer
  • a POSIX shell available as /bin/sh
  • a working C compiler toolchain
  • Python 3 for helper scripts in the capstone

Back to top

macOS

macOS often ships /usr/bin/make as GNU Make 3.81, which does not satisfy the course requirement.

Install GNU Make:

brew install make

Then keep using the published course commands from the repository root:

make PROGRAM=reproducible-research/deep-dive-make program-help
make PROGRAM=reproducible-research/deep-dive-make test

If you step down into capstone/ for the raw executable reference build, use gmake there.

Back to top

Linux

Most Linux distributions already provide a compatible GNU Make, but you should still verify it:

make --version | head -1

If the reported version is older than 4.3, upgrade before trusting the course results.

Back to top

Verify Your Setup

From repository root:

make PROGRAM=reproducible-research/deep-dive-make program-help
make PROGRAM=reproducible-research/deep-dive-make test

From programs/reproducible-research/deep-dive-make/capstone/:

gmake help
gmake selftest

Use make instead of gmake on Linux only if make --version confirms GNU Make 4.3+.

Back to top

Common Setup Failures

Symptom Likely cause Fix
grouped-target or pattern support errors old GNU Make install GNU Make 4.3+
commands behave differently on macOS than the course says using /usr/bin/make switch to gmake
selftest fails before the build logic is really exercised missing compiler or shell assumptions verify C toolchain and /bin/sh
helper scripts fail unexpectedly missing Python 3 install Python 3 and rerun

Back to top