1Build Glossary
2==============
3
4.. glossary::
5   :sorted:
6
7   object directory
8       A directory holding the output of the build system. The build
9       system attempts to isolate all file modifications to this
10       directory. By convention, object directories are commonly
11       directories under the source directory prefixed with **obj-**.
12       e.g. **obj-firefox**.
13
14   mozconfig
15       A shell script used to configure the build system.
16
17   configure
18       A generated shell script which detects the current system
19       environment, applies a requested set of build configuration
20       options, and writes out metadata to be consumed by the build
21       system.
22
23   config.status
24       An executable file produced by **configure** that takes the
25       generated build config and writes out files used to build the
26       tree. Traditionally, config.status writes out a bunch of
27       Makefiles.
28
29   install manifest
30       A file containing metadata describing file installation rules.
31       A large part of the build system consists of copying files
32       around to appropriate places. We write out special files
33       describing the set of required operations so we can process the
34       actions efficiently. These files are install manifests.
35
36   clobber build
37      A build performed with an initially empty object directory. All
38      build actions must be performed.
39
40   incremental build
41      A build performed with the result of a previous build in an
42      object directory. The build should not have to work as hard because
43      it will be able to reuse the work from previous builds.
44
45   mozinfo
46      An API for accessing a common and limited subset of the build and
47      run-time configuration. See :ref:`mozinfo`.
48