If you are new to make, or are looking for a general
introduction, read the first few sections of each chapter, skipping the
later sections. In each chapter, the first few sections contain
introductory or general information and the later sections contain
specialized or technical information.
The exception is the second chapter, An Introduction to Makefiles, all of which is introductory.
If you are familiar with other make programs, see Features of GNU make, which lists the enhancements GNU
make has, and Incompatibilities and Missing Features, which explains the few things GNU make lacks that
others have.
For a quick summary, see Options Summary, Quick Reference, and Special Targets.