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C
HAPTER
4
The Makefile, Project, and Workspace
Creator (MPC)
4.1 Introduction
Maintaining multiple build tool files for a multi-platform project can be quite
a challenge, especially when the project structure and platforms are constantly
changing and evolving. A project may support Makefiles, Visual C++ project
files, Borland Makefiles, and many others. Adding files, deleting files,
changing project options or even changing the name of the target within your
project will require you to expend time updating each build tool file. What you
need instead is a single location to store project specific information to avoid
repetitious, tedious modifications to multiple build tool files. This is where
Makefile Project Creator (MPC) comes into the picture.
MPC can be used to generate build tool specific project files from a generic
mpc file. The MPC project file is a collection of source files that make up a
single build target. MPC uses platform specific input along with mpc files and
generates build tool specific files like makefiles, Visual C++ workspace and
project files, Visual Studio solution and project files, etc.
MPC provides many advantages over the build tool files it replaces. It
provides mechanisms for minimizing maintenance of project build files. It
