Makefile Symbols

$@ is the name of the target being generated, and $< the first prerequisite (usually a source file). You can find a list of all these special variables in the GNU Make manual.

For example, consider the following declaration:

all: library.cpp main.cpp

In this case:

• $@ evaluates to all
• $< evaluates to library.cpp
• $^ evaluates to library.cpp main.cpp

Reference

• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3220277/what-do-the-makefile-symbols-and-mean