Run the program's automated test suite, typically consisting of a set of unit tests^[137] to find regressions, bugs, or other deviations from expected behavior during the development process. The ‘test’ production can also be used by end-users of the software to ensure that their installation is functioning correctly.

Remove all files (such as binary executables and object files) that are normally created when you make all. A make clean should reset the process of building the software to a good initial state.

Make a source archive (usually with the tar(1) program) that can be shipped as a unit and used to rebuild the program on another machine. This target should do the equivalent of depending on all so that a make dist automatically rebuilds the whole project before making the distribution archive — this is a good way to avoid last-minute embarrassments, like not shipping derived files that are actually needed (like the flat-text README in fetchmail, which is actually generated from an HTML source).

Throw away everything but what you would include if you were bundling up the source with make dist. This may be the the same as make clean but should be included as a production of its own anyway, to document what's going on. When it's different, it usually differs by throwing away local configuration files that aren't part of the normal make all build sequence (such as those generated by autoconf(1); we'll talk about autoconf(1) in Chapter17).

Throw away everything you can rebuild using the makefile. This may be the same as make distclean, but should be included as a production of its own anyway, to document what's going on. When it's different, it usually differs by throwing away files that are derived but (for whatever reason) shipped with the project sources anyway.

Install the project's executables and documentation in system directories so they will be accessible to general users (this typically requires root privileges). Initialize or update any databases or libraries that the executables require in order to function.

Remove files installed in system directories by make install (this typically requires root privileges). This should completely and perfectly reverse a make install. The presence of an uninstall production implies a kind of humility that experienced Unix hands look for as a sign of thoughtful design; conversely, not having an uninstall production is at best careless, and (when, for example, an installation creates large database files) can be quite rude and thoughtless.