Invoking make is easy; just type "make" in the current directory. The make program will then find and interpret a file called makefile or Makefile in the current directory. If you type "make" all by itself, it will build the default target. Developers normally set up their makefiles so that the default target compiles all the sources:

$ make

Some makefiles won't have a default target, and you'll need to specify one in order to get the compilation started:

$ make all

After typing one of these commands, your computer will spend several minutes compiling your program into object code. Presuming it completes with no errors, you'll be ready to install the compiled program onto your system.