Adding automatic dependency processing to Makefile-based build systems with amake

This paper explains how to improve the quality of an existing Makefile-based build system, using a new variant of Make. Ordinary file-oriented dependencies are detected, recorded, and monitored automatically. Checksums are compared, rather than timestamps. Other important dependencies are also processed automatically. This provides an accurate, compact, and low-maintenance build system. Experiences with the Linux kernel/driver build system are described.