Glossary

Page Maps

graph LR
  family["Reproducible Research"]
  program["Deep Dive Make"]
  section["Rule Semantics Precedence Edge Cases"]
  page["Glossary"]
  capstone["Capstone evidence"]

  family --> program --> section --> page
  page -.applies in.-> capstone

flowchart LR
  orient["Orient on the page map"] --> read["Read the main claim and examples"]
  read --> inspect["Inspect the related code, proof, or capstone surface"]
  inspect --> verify["Run or review the verification path"]
  verify --> apply["Apply the idea back to the module and capstone"]

Use this glossary to keep the language of Module 04 stable while you move between the core lessons, worked example, and exercises.

The purpose is not to create extra jargon. The purpose is to make sure the same idea keeps the same name whenever you explain a failure, design a fix, or review a Makefile with someone else.

How to use this glossary

If a page feels slippery or a debugging conversation becomes vague, stop and look up the term that is doing the most work in the argument. A lot of Make confusion disappears once the team agrees on the right noun.

Terms in this module

Term	Meaning in this module
capability gate	A named condition such as HAVE_GROUPED_TARGETS that represents whether a required feature exists.
command-line assignment	A variable setting passed at invocation time, such as make MODE=debug, which usually has very high precedence.
convergence	The property that a successful build reaches a stable state where the next run does not claim more work is needed.
deferred variable	A recursively expanded variable defined with =, whose value is computed later when it is expanded.
deterministic include	A generated included makefile whose contents stay stable when its semantic inputs have not changed.
exit code 1 in -q mode	The signal that a target would rebuild. In query mode this is not a crash; it is evidence that the target is not up to date.
flavor	Make's word for how a variable is stored and expanded, usually simple or recursive.
grouped targets	GNU Make's &: form for declaring that several outputs are produced by one logical recipe execution.
include order	The order in which makefiles are read, which can affect which assignments win and which rules are in scope.
MAKEFILE_LIST	The built-in variable that records the makefiles read so far and helps explain include order.
origin	Make's word for where a variable came from, such as the command line, environment, makefile, or built-in defaults.
phony target	A target declared under .PHONY, used for orchestration commands rather than for publishing a real file artifact.
publication event	The moment a recipe makes an output or set of outputs real. For multi-output generation, this needs one clear owner.
recursive variable	Another name for a deferred variable created with =. Its expression is stored and expanded later.
restart	What Make does after remaking an included makefile: it reads the makefiles again so evaluation matches the updated build definition.
search path	A path resolution policy such as VPATH or vpath that lets Make find prerequisites outside the literal path named in the rule.
simple variable	A variable defined with :=, expanded immediately and then stored as a stable value.
special target	A built-in control target such as .PHONY, .NOTPARALLEL, or .ONESHELL that changes Make's behavior.
stamp	A file that represents a build event or semantic fact when there is no natural single output to hang the dependency on.
target-specific variable	A variable value that applies while building a particular target and its prerequisites, rather than globally.
trace line	The line emitted by make --trace that explains why a target became eligible to run.
VPATH	A global search-path feature that tells Make where else to look for prerequisites. Useful at times, but easy to make opaque.

The vocabulary standard for this module

When you explain an incident after Module 04, aim to say things like:

• "the build did not converge"
• "the environment won because of precedence"
• "the included file was regenerated and Make restarted"
• "the generator needs one publication event"
• "the search path hid which prerequisite actually won"

Those sentences are better than saying only "Make got confused."