Distmake is a programming tool that enables the distribution of the make process across multiple machines while providing a single, unified view of the build process.
Distmake works by starting an ONC RPC server (rpc.bldserver) on all build servers with a rsh command before the make process is initiated. This server listens for distmake requests, processes jobs (builds), and reports execution status. When all jobs are completed, distmake kills each RPC server on the remote machines.
To control distmake, a series of environment variables are utilized. DISTMAKE_RSH, if present, will direct distmake to use the specified rsh-compatible program (ssh is an excellent option if security is a concern). On the other hand, DISTMAKE_RPCBLDSERVER, if available, serves as the pointer for the rpc.bldserver program generated using distmake. If this variable is not present, a compile-time value is used instead (PREFIX/bin/rpc.bldserver).
Debugging distmake is easy using the --debug=r[,other debug flags].
This updated release of distmake offers two modes of operation: automatic on-demand start of remote build servers or utilization of waiting daemons. This feature combines the functionality of releases 0.2 and 0.3.1.
Version 0.4: N/A