Premake vs GNU Make

Struggling to choose between Premake and GNU Make? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

Premake is a Development solution with tags like c, crossplatform, automation.

It boasts features such as Generate project files for Visual Studio, Xcode, Make and others, Support for C, C++, C#, Lua and other languages, Cross-platform build configuration, Command line and GUI interface, Extensible Lua scripting, Open source and free and pros including Automates and simplifies project configuration, Saves time compared to manual project setup, Supports many platforms, languages and build tools, Easy to integrate into build process, Free and open source.

On the other hand, GNU Make is a Development product tagged with build, automation, make, compiler.

Its standout features include Dependency tracking - Automatically determines dependencies between files, Parallel builds - Can build independent targets simultaneously, Built-in functions - Many built-in functions for common build tasks, Recursive builds - Can build targets in subdirectories recursively, Pattern rules - General rules can be applied based on pattern matching, Conditionals - Supports if/else conditionals in makefiles, and it shines with pros like Widely used and well-supported, Mature and stable, Powerful dependency tracking, Built-in parallelism, Portable across platforms, Integrates well with other tools.

To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison of these two products, delving into their features, pros, cons, pricing, and more. Get ready to explore the nuances that set them apart and determine which one is the perfect fit for your requirements.

Premake

Premake

Premake is an open-source build configuration tool for C++ projects across Windows, MacOS, and Linux. It automates the generation of project files and build scripts for Make, Visual Studio, Xcode, and other build systems.

Categories:
c crossplatform automation

Premake Features

  1. Generate project files for Visual Studio, Xcode, Make and others
  2. Support for C, C++, C#, Lua and other languages
  3. Cross-platform build configuration
  4. Command line and GUI interface
  5. Extensible Lua scripting
  6. Open source and free

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Automates and simplifies project configuration

Saves time compared to manual project setup

Supports many platforms, languages and build tools

Easy to integrate into build process

Free and open source

Cons

Limited adoption outside of C/C++ projects

Steep learning curve for Lua scripting

Less flexibility than hand-written build scripts

Limited IDE integration features

Minimal documentation


GNU Make

GNU Make

GNU Make is a utility that automatically builds executable programs and libraries from source code by reading files called Makefiles which specify how to derive the target program. It allows users to easily compile large projects without manually issuing the compilation commands.

Categories:
build automation make compiler

GNU Make Features

  1. Dependency tracking - Automatically determines dependencies between files
  2. Parallel builds - Can build independent targets simultaneously
  3. Built-in functions - Many built-in functions for common build tasks
  4. Recursive builds - Can build targets in subdirectories recursively
  5. Pattern rules - General rules can be applied based on pattern matching
  6. Conditionals - Supports if/else conditionals in makefiles

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Widely used and well-supported

Mature and stable

Powerful dependency tracking

Built-in parallelism

Portable across platforms

Integrates well with other tools

Cons

Cryptic syntax

Difficult for complex builds

Only rebuilds out-of-date targets

Not suitable for all project types

Limited to makefile build process