Featureless Make Settings Specification

The build settings settings file follows the FSS-0001 (Extended) format.

Each Object represents a settings property name.

There is only a distinct set of setting property names (see below).

Each Content represents the values associated with that property.

Additional restrictions are applied to each Content depending on each specific Object name (see below).

Object Names and their respective Content purpose/restrictions:

build_compiler: Must only be a valid filename.
build_indexer: Must only be a valid filename.
build_indexer_arguments: Zero or more arguments supported by the indexer specified in build_indexer.
build_language: Must only be one of: bash, c, or c++.
build_libraries: Must only contain any number of valid library include arguments that are valid for the compiler defined in "build_compiler" Object.
build_libraries_shared: Must only contain any number of valid library include arguments that are valid for the compiler defined in "build_compiler" Object.
build_libraries_static: Must only contain any number of valid library include arguments that are valid for the compiler defined in "build_compiler" Object.
build_name: Must only contain characters allowed in a filename.
build_objects_library: Must only contain any number of valid object file names relative to the appropriate path_object_* path.
build_objects_library_shared: Must only contain any number of valid object file names relative to the path_object_shared path.
build_objects_library_static: Must only contain any number of valid object file names relative to the path_object_static path.
build_objects_program: Must only contain any number of valid object file names relative to the appropriate path_object_* path.
build_objects_program_shared: Must only contain any number of valid object file names relative to the path_object_shared path.
build_objects_program_static: Must only contain any number of valid object file names relative to the path_object_static path.
build_script: Must only one of: yes or no.
build_shared: Must only one of: yes or no.
build_sources_headers: Must only contain any number of valid filenames.
build_sources_headers_shared: Must only contain any number of valid filenames.
build_sources_headers_static: Must only contain any number of valid filenames.
build_sources_library: Must only contain any number of valid filenames.
build_sources_library_shared: Must only contain any number of valid filenames.
build_sources_library_static: Must only contain any number of valid filenames.
build_sources_object: Must only contain any number of valid filenames.
build_sources_object_shared: Must only contain any number of valid filenames.
build_sources_object_static: Must only contain any number of valid filenames.
build_sources_program: Must only contain any number of valid filenames.
build_sources_program_shared: Must only contain any number of valid filenames.
build_sources_program_static: Must only contain any number of valid filenames.
build_sources_script: Must only contain any number of valid filenames.
build_sources_setting: Must only contain any number of valid filenames.
build_static: Must only one of: yes or no.
defines: Must only contain any number of valid macro names supported by the compiler specified in build_compiler.
defines_library: Must only contain any number of valid macro names supported by the compiler specified in build_compiler.
defines_library_shared: Must only contain any number of valid macro names supported by the compiler specified in build_compiler.
defines_library_static: Must only contain any number of valid macro names supported by the compiler specified in build_compiler.
defines_object: Must only contain any number of valid macro names supported by the compiler specified in build_compiler.
defines_object_shared: Must only contain any number of valid macro names supported by the compiler specified in build_compiler.
defines_object_static: Must only contain any number of valid macro names supported by the compiler specified in build_compiler.
defines_program: Must only contain any number of valid macro names supported by the compiler specified in build_compiler.
defines_program_shared: Must only contain any number of valid macro names supported by the compiler specified in build_compiler.
defines_program_static: Must only contain any number of valid macro names supported by the compiler specified in build_compiler.
defines_shared: Must only contain any number of valid macro names supported by the compiler specified in build_compiler.
defines_static: Must only contain any number of valid macro names supported by the compiler specified in build_compiler.
environment: Environment variable names, case-sensitive, usually uppercase. May only contain characters allowed in an environment variable.
flags: Must only contain any number of parameters supported by the compiler specified in build_compiler.
flags_library: Must only contain any number of parameters supported by the compiler specified in build_compiler.
flags_library_shared: Must only contain any number of parameters supported by the compiler specified in build_compiler.
flags_library_static: Must only contain any number of parameters supported by the compiler specified in build_compiler.
flags_object: Must only contain any number of parameters supported by the compiler specified in build_compiler.
flags_object_shared: Must only contain any number of parameters supported by the compiler specified in build_compiler.
flags_object_static: Must only contain any number of parameters supported by the compiler specified in build_compiler.
flags_program: Must only contain any number of parameters supported by the compiler specified in build_compiler.
flags_program_shared: Must only contain any number of parameters supported by the compiler specified in build_compiler.
flags_program_static: Must only contain any number of parameters supported by the compiler specified in build_compiler.
flags_shared: Must only contain any number of parameters supported by the compiler specified in build_compiler.
flags_static: Must only contain any number of parameters supported by the compiler specified in build_compiler.
has_path_standard: Must only one of: yes or no.
modes: Any valid word character, -, or +.
modes_default: May only be a single complete Content word defined in modes Object.
path_headers: Must be a single valid path.
path_language: Must be a single valid path.
path_library_script: Must be a single valid path.
path_library_shared: Must be a single valid path.
path_library_static: Must be a single valid path.
path_object_script: Must be a single valid path.
path_object_shared: Must be a single valid path.
path_object_static: Must be a single valid path.
path_program_script: Must be a single valid path.
path_program_shared: Must be a single valid path.
path_program_static: Must be a single valid path.
path_sources: Must only be a valid directory path or not specified.
path_sources_headers: Must only be a valid directory path or not specified.
path_sources_library: Must only be a valid directory path or not specified.
path_sources_object: Must only be a valid directory path or not specified.
path_sources_program: Must only be a valid directory path or not specified.
path_sources_script: Must only be a valid directory path or not specified.
preserve_path_headers: Must only be one of yes or no.
process_post: Must contain only a single valid filename.
process_pre: Must contain only a single valid filename.
search_exclusive: Must only one of: yes or no.
search_shared: Must only one of: yes or no.
search_static: Must only one of: yes or no.
stage: Only zero or one Content, which represents the build stage name (case-sensitive) (no slashes allowed).
version_file: Must only be one of: major, minor, micro, or nano.
version_major: Must only be a single value containing valid filename characters.
version_major_prefix: Must be zero or more valid filename characters.
version_micro: Must only be a single value containing valid filename characters.
version_micro_prefix: Must be zero or more valid filename characters.
version_minor: Must only be a single value containing valid filename characters.
version_minor_prefix: Must be zero or more valid filename characters.
version_nano: Must only be a single value containing valid filename characters.
version_nano_prefix: Must be zero or more valid filename characters.
version_target: Must only be one of: major, minor, micro, or nano.

All Object names support having a - and a mode name, such as build_libraries-individual for a mode called individual, except for the modes and the modes_default Object names.

Settings Documentation

This describes intent and purposes of the build settings file settings.

The settings file is designed for very simple compilations that represent a single named program and/or a single named library.

For specific details on the allowed formatting, see the settings.txt under the specifications folder.

build_compiler:

This represents the name of the compiler program to use, such as gcc.

This defaults to gcc (the GNU C Compiler).

The programs gcc and clang are known to work.

Many of the parameters in the settings file can be changed if using a non-GCC, but there may be certain hard-coded functionality that may need to be changed.
build_indexer:

This represents the name of the indexer program to use, such as ar.

An indexer is often called a linker.

This defaults to ar (the GNU ar program).

Similar to build_compiler, any linker that supports the ar program parameters is effectively supported.
build_indexer_arguments:

This represents arguments needed to build an archive file from object files, such as rcs.

These arguments are placed immediately before the object files passed to the indexer program.
build_language:

The programming language to build with.

The languages c and c++ are supported (with bash as a consideration for support).

The bash language is not currently implemented and needs some consideration because there is nothing to compile.

The bash language will likely build a set of individual scripts, and perhaps script dependencies, into a single Bash script.
build_libraries:

A collection of libraries to be linked against.

This should include the compiler specific parameter parts, such as the -l prefix in -lc.

The order of these may matter if the compiler (such as GCC or a linker via GCC) is order sensitive.
build_libraries_shared:

A collection of libraries to be linked against.

This should include the compiler specific parameter parts, such as the -l prefix in -lc.

The order of these may matter if the compiler (such as GCC or a linker via GCC) is order sensitive.

These are applied to only shared builds.
build_libraries_static:

A collection of libraries to be linked against.

This should include the compiler specific parameter parts, such as the -l prefix in -lc.

The order of these may matter if the compiler (such as GCC or a linker via GCC) is order sensitive.

These are applied to only static builds.
build_objects_library:

A collection of object files to be compile with when building libraries.

These are intended to represent already compiled object files.

These paths are relative to the path_object_script, path_object_shared, or path_object_static.

The order of these may matter if the compiler (such as GCC or a linker via GCC) is order sensitive.
build_objects_library_shared:

A collection of object files to be compile with when building shared libraries.

These are intended to represent already compiled object files.

These paths are relative to the path_object_shared.

The order of these may matter if the compiler (such as GCC or a linker via GCC) is order sensitive.

These are applied to only shared builds.
build_objects_library_static:

A collection of object files to be compile with when building static libraries.

These are intended to represent already compiled object files.

These paths are relative to the path_object_static.

The order of these may matter if the compiler (such as GCC or a linker via GCC) is order sensitive.

These are applied to only static builds.
build_objects_program:

A collection of object files to be compile with when building programs.

These are intended to represent already compiled object files.

These paths are relative to the path_object_script, path_object_shared, or path_object_static.

The order of these may matter if the compiler (such as GCC or a linker via GCC) is order sensitive.
build_objects_program_shared:

A collection of object files to be compile with when building shared programs.

These are intended to represent already compiled object files.

These paths are relative to the path_object_shared.

The order of these may matter if the compiler (such as GCC or a linker via GCC) is order sensitive.

These are applied to only shared builds.
build_objects_program_static:

A collection of object files to be compile with when building static programs.

These are intended to represent already compiled object files.

These paths are relative to the path_object_static.

The order of these may matter if the compiler (such as GCC or a linker via GCC) is order sensitive.

These are applied to only static builds.
build_name:

The name of the build, which often represent the project name.

If program sources are specified, then this will be used as the program name.

If library sources are specified, then this will be used in the library name, such as libX.so where X would be the build_name value.
build_script:

When yes, the build process will build any scripts, such as a Bash script.

This is currently not implemented.
build_shared:

When yes, the build process will compile any source code for any supported language that supports shared library linking.
build_sources_headers:

A collection of header files.

May include a relative sub-path to each individual header (such as: level_0/a.h level_0/b.h level_1/c.h).

The order of these may matter if the compiler (such as GCC or a linker via GCC) is order sensitive.
build_sources_headers_shared:

A collection of header files.

May include a relative sub-path to each individual header (such as: level_0/a.h level_0/b.h level_1/c.h).

The order of these may matter if the compiler (such as GCC or a linker via GCC) is order sensitive.

Be careful not to have any conflicting names between this and build_sources_headers_static in case of when static and shared builds are both enabled.

These are applied to only shared builds.
build_sources_headers_static:

A collection of header files.

May include a relative sub-path to each individual header (such as: level_0/a.h level_0/b.h level_1/c.h).

The order of these may matter if the compiler (such as GCC or a linker via GCC) is order sensitive.

These files are used when compiling the library.

Be careful not to have any conflicting names between this and build_sources_headers_shared in case of when static and shared builds are both enabled.

These are applied to only static builds.
build_sources_library:

A collection of library related source files.

May include a relative sub-path to each individual source file (such as: level_0/a.c level_0/b.c level_1/c.c).

The order of these may matter if the compiler (such as GCC or a linker via GCC) is order sensitive.
build_sources_library_shared:

A collection of library related source files.

May include a relative sub-path to each individual source file (such as: level_0/a.c level_0/b.c level_1/c.c).

The order of these may matter if the compiler (such as GCC or a linker via GCC) is order sensitive.

These are applied to only shared builds.
build_sources_library_static:

A collection of library related source files.

May include a relative sub-path to each individual source file (such as: level_0/a.c level_0/b.c level_1/c.c).

The order of these may matter if the compiler (such as GCC or a linker via GCC) is order sensitive.

These are applied to only static builds.
build_sources_object:

A single source file used for generating an object file.

The source file is located within the path designated by path_sources_object.

The built object does not get linked and therefore no linker arguments apply.

The built object file is named using the build_name with the .o extension.

May include a relative sub-path to each individual source file (such as: level_0/a.c).
build_sources_object_shared:

A single source file used for generating an object file.

The source file is located within the path designated by path_sources_object.

The built object does not get linked and therefore no linker arguments apply.

The built object file is named using the build_name with the .o extension.

May include a relative sub-path to each individual source file (such as: level_0/a.c).

These are applied to only shared builds.
build_sources_object_static:

A single source file used for generating an object file.

The source file is located within the path designated by path_sources_object.

The built object does not get linked and therefore no linker arguments apply.

The built object file is named using the build_name with the .o extension.

May include a relative sub-path to each individual source file (such as: level_0/a.c).

These are applied to only static builds.
build_sources_program:

A collection of program related source files.

May include a relative sub-path to each individual source file (such as: level_0/a.c level_0/b.c level_1/c.c).

The order of these may matter if the compiler (such as GCC or a linker via GCC) is order sensitive.

These files are used when compiling the program.
build_sources_program_shared:

A collection of program related source files.

May include a relative sub-path to each individual source file (such as: level_0/a.c level_0/b.c level_1/c.c).

The order of these may matter if the compiler (such as GCC or a linker via GCC) is order sensitive.

These files are used when compiling the program for shared builds.
build_sources_program_static:

A collection of program related source files.

May include a relative sub-path to each individual source file (such as: level_0/a.c level_0/b.c level_1/c.c).

The order of these may matter if the compiler (such as GCC or a linker via GCC) is order sensitive.

These files are used when compiling the program for static builds.
build_sources_script:

A collection of script files.

These are settings files used by the project and are simply copied over to the build directory.

Unless a pre-process script (or in theory post-process script) is configured to alter these, they are not modified.

Unlike the compile_language setting bash, this is not for built Bash script, but is instead for any valid scripting language (including Bash).

These could be in any language.
build_sources_setting:

A collection of settings files.

These are settings files used by the project and are simply copied over to the build directory.

Unless a pre-process script (or in theory post-process script) is configured to alter these, they are not modified.
build_static:

When yes, the build process will compile any source code for any supported language that supports static library linking.
defines:

A collection of macro names.

This includes the any compiler specific parameters required by the build_compiler, such as the -D used by gcc and clang.

These will be appended to the compiler for compiled languages such as C and C++.

These are applied to both shared and static builds.
defines_library:

A collection of macro names.

This includes the any compiler specific parameters required by the build_compiler, such as the -D used by gcc and clang.

These will be appended to the compiler for compiled languages such as C and C++.

These are applied to only library builds.
defines_library_shared:

A collection of macro names.

This includes the any compiler specific parameters required by the build_compiler, such as the -D used by gcc and clang.

These will be appended to the compiler for compiled languages such as C and C++.

These are applied to only shared library builds.
defines_library_static:

A collection of macro names.

This includes the any compiler specific parameters required by the build_compiler, such as the -D used by gcc and clang.

These will be appended to the compiler for compiled languages such as C and C++.

These are applied to only static library builds.
defines_object:

A collection of macro names.

This includes the any compiler specific parameters required by the build_compiler, such as the -D used by gcc and clang.

These will be appended to the compiler for compiled languages such as C and C++.

These are applied to only object builds.
defines_object_shared:

A collection of macro names.

This includes the any compiler specific parameters required by the build_compiler, such as the -D used by gcc and clang.

These will be appended to the compiler for compiled languages such as C and C++.

These are applied to only shared object builds.
defines_object_static:

A collection of macro names.

This includes the any compiler specific parameters required by the build_compiler, such as the -D used by gcc and clang.

These will be appended to the compiler for compiled languages such as C and C++.

These are applied to only static object builds.
defines_program:

A collection of macro names.

This includes the any compiler specific parameters required by the build_compiler, such as the -D used by gcc and clang.

These will be appended to the compiler for compiled languages such as C and C++.

These are applied to only program builds.
defines_program_shared:

A collection of macro names.

This includes the any compiler specific parameters required by the build_compiler, such as the -D used by gcc and clang.

These will be appended to the compiler for compiled languages such as C and C++.

These are applied to only shared program builds.
defines_program_static:

A collection of macro names.

This includes the any compiler specific parameters required by the build_compiler, such as the -D used by gcc and clang.

These will be appended to the compiler for compiled languages such as C and C++.

These are applied to only shared program builds.
defines_shared:

A collection of macro names.

This includes the any compiler specific parameters required by the build_compiler, such as the -D used by gcc and clang.

These will be appended to the compiler for compiled languages such as C and C++.

These are applied to only shared builds.
defines_static:

A collection of macro names.

This includes the any compiler specific parameters required by the build_compiler, such as the -D used by gcc and clang.

These will be appended to the compiler for compiled languages such as C and C++.

These are applied to only static builds.
environment:

A collection of environment names to pass from the callers environment into the executed programs environment.

When provided, all environment variables are removed when calling user-space programs, such as gcc.

To remove all environment variables define this with no Content.

When not provided, all environment variables are loaded.
flags:

A collection of any flag supported by the build_compiler, such as gcc.

This includes the any compiler specific parameters to defined this, such as the -f used by gcc and clang.

These are applied to both shared and static builds.
flags_library:

A collection of any flag supported by the build_compiler, such as gcc.

This includes the any compiler specific parameters to defined this, such as the -f used by gcc and clang.

These are applied when building a library.
flags_library_shared:

A collection of any flag supported by the build_compiler, such as gcc.

This includes the any compiler specific parameters to defined this, such as the -f used by gcc and clang.

These are applied to only library shared builds.
flags_library_static:

A collection of any flag supported by the build_compiler, such as gcc.

This includes the any compiler specific parameters to defined this, such as the -f used by gcc and clang.

These are applied to only library static builds.
flags_object:

A collection of any flag supported by the build_compiler, such as gcc.

This includes the any compiler specific parameters to defined this, such as the -f used by gcc and clang.

These are applied when building an object.
flags_object_shared:

A collection of any flag supported by the build_compiler, such as gcc.

This includes the any compiler specific parameters to defined this, such as the -f used by gcc and clang.

These are applied to only object shared builds.
flags_object_static:

A collection of any flag supported by the build_compiler, such as gcc.

This includes the any compiler specific parameters to defined this, such as the -f used by gcc and clang.

These are applied to only object static builds.
flags_program:

A collection of any flag supported by the build_compiler, such as gcc.

This includes the any compiler specific parameters to defined this, such as the -f used by gcc and clang.

These are applied when building a program.
flags_program_shared:

A collection of any flag supported by the build_compiler, such as gcc.

This includes the any compiler specific parameters to defined this, such as the -f used by gcc and clang.

These are applied to only program shared builds.
flags_program_static:

A collection of any flag supported by the build_compiler, such as gcc.

This includes the any compiler specific parameters to defined this, such as the -f used by gcc and clang.

These are applied to only program static builds.
flags_shared:

A collection of any flag supported by the build_compiler, such as gcc.

This includes the any compiler specific parameters to defined this, such as the -f used by gcc and clang.

These are applied to only shared builds.
flags_static:

A collection of any flag supported by the build_compiler, such as gcc.

This includes the any compiler specific parameters to defined this, such as the -f used by gcc and clang.

These are applied to only static builds.
has_path_standard:

When yes, the sources path will be built using the sources path with the language, such as sources/c/.

When no, the default sources path structure is not used and instead path_sources is used.

When the parameter -S/--sources is specified, such as -S xxx, then when this is set to yes is used then the path would be xxx/c/ and when this is set to no then the path would be xxx/.

This defaults to yes.
modes:

A collection of available build modes.

Build modes provide custom variants of the build process where certain settings are appended onto others.

See the settings.txt specification for a list of which setting names this applies to.
modes_default:

The name of the default mode to use when no mode is specified.

This must be one of the modes specified in the modes setting.
path_headers:

A sub-path in which headers are to be installed under.

For example, the FLL project might use the level_0, level_1, etc.. headers without requiring that structure within the source.

A resulting build destination for a path_headers of level_0 would be something like build/includes/level_0/.

If path_headers is level_0, preserve_path_headers is yes, and build_sources_headers has xxx/a.h yyy/zzz/b.h, then the headers would be at: build/includes/level_0/xxx/a.h build/includes/level_0/yyy/zzz/b.h
path_language:

A sub-path in which to find the source files for the currently defined language.

If the build_language is changed, it is recommended to change this as well to match.
path_library_script:

A sub-path representing the destination where the built library script files are placed.

This defaults to script.

This is currently not implemented.
path_library_shared:

A sub-path representing the destination where the built shared library files are placed.

This defaults to shared.
path_library_static:

A sub-path representing the destination where the built shared library files are placed.

This defaults to static.
path_object_script:

A sub-path representing the destination where the built object script files are placed.

This defaults to script.

This is currently not implemented.
path_object_shared:

A sub-path representing the destination where the built object library files are placed.

This defaults to shared.
path_object_static:

A sub-path representing the destination where the built object library files are placed.

This defaults to static.
path_program_script:

A sub-path representing the destination where the built program script files are placed.

This defaults to script.

This is currently not implemented.
path_program_shared:

A sub-path representing the destination where the built shared program files are placed.

This defaults to shared.
path_program_static:

A sub-path representing the destination where built shared program files are placed.

This defaults to static.
path_sources:

A sub-path representing where the source files are found.

This defaults to sources.
path_sources_object:

A sub-path representing where the object source files are found.

This is used by build_sources_object.

This defaults to sources.
preserve_path_headers:

When this is yes, then the relative directory structure in the source (as defined in build_sources_headers) is preserved.

If the build_sources_headers has the header files xxx/a.h yyy/zzz/b.h and this is yes, then the directories xxx/ and yyy/zzz/ are created and the files are stored within them.

If the build_sources_headers has the header files xxx/a.h yyy/zzz/b.h and this is no, then the directories xxx/ and yyy/zzz/ are stripped before installing.

When this is no and the build_sources_headers has header files xxx/a.h yyy/a.h, then one of the a.h files will be overwritten, depending on order they were supplied.
process_post:

The filename (relative to the data/build/ directory) of a script to execute after the build operation successfully completes.

A small subset of parameters from the main execution are passed to this script during execution as parameters (using short parameter codes):
- Color context parameters, such as: +l, +n, and +d.
- Operation mode, such as: build, clean, make, or skeleton.
- Verbosity parameters, such as: +q, +D, or +V.
- Define parameters, such as -d X or -d Y, whereas X or Y are any valid argument associated with -d.
- Process parameter, such as -p X, whereas X is any valid argument associated with -p.
- Settings parameter, such as -s X', whereas code:X" is any valid argument associated with -s.
- Build Path parameter, such as -b X', whereas code:X" is any valid argument associated with -b.
- Data Path parameter, such as -D X', whereas code:X" is any valid argument associated with -D.
- Sources Path parameter, such as -S X', whereas code:X" is any valid argument associated with -S.
- Work Path parameter, such as -w X', whereas code:X" is any valid argument associated with -w.
process_pre:

The filename (relative to the data/build/ directory) of a script to execute before the build operation is executed.

A small subset of parameters from the main execution are passed to this script during execution as parameters (using short parameter codes):
- Color context parameters, such as: +l, +n, and +d.
- Operation mode, such as: build, clean, make, or skeleton.
- Verbosity parameters, such as: +q, +D, or +V.
- Define parameters, such as -d X or -d Y, whereas X or Y are any valid argument associated with -d.
- Process parameter, such as -p X, whereas X is any valid argument associated with -p.
- Settings parameter, such as -s X', whereas code:X" is any valid argument associated with -s.
- Build Path parameter, such as -b X', whereas code:X" is any valid argument associated with -b.
- Data Path parameter, such as -D X', whereas code:X" is any valid argument associated with -D.
- Sources Path parameter, such as -S X', whereas code:X" is any valid argument associated with -S.
- Work Path parameter, such as -w X', whereas code:X" is any valid argument associated with -w.
search_exclusive:

When yes, the search path during compile for shared libraries will only include shared library paths.

When no, the search path during compile time for shared libraries will include shared library paths followed by static library paths.

Setting this to yes helps prevent static libraries from ending up in shared libraries (very useful when bootstrapping a system).

Setting this to no allows for including static libraries if no shared libraries are found but static are.

This does not alter search paths introduced automatically by the build_compiler or build_indexer, so it is still possible for static libraries to end up even when this is set to yes.
search_shared:

When yes, shared library paths are searched during compile.

Both this and search_static cannot be no at the same time.

This defaults to yes.
search_shared:

When yes, static library paths are searched during compile.

Both this and search_shared cannot be no at the same time.
stage:

This defines a name that is added to the build stage files to help uniquely identify build stages associated with this file.

This name must only have valid characters for a particular file system.

The variables allowed are different from file system to file system and so special characters should generally be avoided.

To help prevent problems with paths, slashes (forward slash and backward slash) are not allowed in the stage name.
version_file:

Designates which version should be used when building the symbolic links.

Any version prefixes are used as defined.

A Symbolic link is created against this created file such that libX.so is a link to libX.so.A.

For all files other than when file is major, another symbolic link is created against this such that libX.so.A is a link to libX.so.A.X such that X is the respective B, B.C', or code:B.C.D" as described below.

The default file is major.

When major is used, the file created is libX.so.A, whereas X is the build_name and A is the major version.

When minor is used, the file created is libX.so.A.B, whereas X is the build_name and A.B is the major and minor versions, respectively.

When micro is used, the file created is libX.so.A.B.C, whereas X is the build_name and A.B.C is the major, minor, and micro versions, respectively.

When nano is used, the file created is libX.so.A.B.C.D, whereas X is the build_name and A.B.C.D is the major, minor, micro, and nano versions, respectively.
version_major:

The major version number (or in theory any characters allowed in a filename).

This should generally be a positive number or 0.

Anything else is currently untested but allowed.

With a structure of A.B.C, the major version would be the A.
version_major_prefix:

The version major prefix is the character used to designate the start of the major version.

This can zero or more characters.

With a structure of A.B.C, the major version prefix would be before the A.

This is only added if version_major is not empty.

This defaults to the ASCII period character ..
version_minor:

The minor version number (or in theory any characters allowed in a filename).

This should generally be a positive number or 0.

Anything else is currently untested but allowed.

With a structure of A.B.C, the minor version would be the B.
version_minor_prefix:

The version minor prefix is the character used to separate the major from the minor.

This can zero or more characters.

With a structure of A.B.C, the minor version prefix would be the . before the B.

This is only added if version_minor is not empty.

This defaults to the ASCII period character ..
version_micro:

The micro version number (or in theory any characters allowed in a filename).

This should generally be a positive number or 0.

Anything else is currently untested but allowed.

With a structure of A.B.C, the micro version would be the C.
version_micro_prefix:

The version micro prefix is the character used to separate the minor from the micro.

This can zero or more characters.

With a structure of A.B.C, the micro version prefix would be the . before the C.

This is only added if version_micro is not empty.

This defaults to the ASCII period character ..
version_nano:

The nano version number (or in theory any characters allowed in a filename).

This should generally be a positive number or 0.

Anything else is currently untested but allowed.

With a structure of A.B.C.D, the micro version prefix would be the . before the D.
version_nano_prefix:

The version nano prefix is the character used to separate the micro from the nano.

This can zero or more characters.

With a structure of A.B.C.D, the minor version would be the . before the D.

This is only added if version_nano is not empty.

This defaults to the ASCII period character ..
version_target:

Designates which version should be used when linking the shared library.

Any version prefixes are used as defined.

The default target is micro.

When major is used, a shared library is generated with -Wl,-soname,libX.so.A, whereas X is the build_name and A is the major version.

When minor is used, a shared library is generated with -Wl,-soname,libX.so.A.B, whereas X is the build_name and A.B is the major and minor versions, respectively.

When micro is used, a shared library is generated with -Wl,-soname,libX.so.A.B.C, whereas X is the build_name and A.B.C is the major, minor, and micro versions, respectively.

When nano is used, a shared library is generated with -Wl,-soname,libX.so.A.B.C.D, whereas X is the build_name and A.B.C.D is the major, minor, micro, and nano versions, respectively.