How can I configure my makefile for debug and release builds?

You can use Target-specific Variable Values. Example:

CXXFLAGS = -g3 -gdwarf2
CCFLAGS = -g3 -gdwarf2

all: executable

debug: CXXFLAGS += -DDEBUG -g
debug: CCFLAGS += -DDEBUG -g
debug: executable

executable: CommandParser.tab.o CommandParser.yy.o Command.o
    $(CXX) -o output CommandParser.yy.o CommandParser.tab.o Command.o -lfl

CommandParser.yy.o: CommandParser.l 
    flex -o CommandParser.yy.c CommandParser.l
    $(CC) -c CommandParser.yy.c

Remember to use $(CXX) or $(CC) in all your compile commands.

Then, 'make debug' will have extra flags like -DDEBUG and -g where as 'make' will not.

On a side note, you can make your Makefile a lot more concise like other posts had suggested.

This question has appeared often when searching for a similar problem, so I feel a fully implemented solution is warranted. Especially since I (and I would assume others) have struggled piecing all the various answers together.

Below is a sample Makefile which supports multiple build types in separate directories. The example illustrated shows debug and release builds.

Supports ...

separate project directories for specific builds

easy selection of a default target build

silent prep target to create directories needed for building the project

build-specific compiler configuration flags

GNU Make's natural method of determining if project requires a rebuild

pattern rules rather than the obsolete suffix rules

#
# Compiler flags
#
CC     = gcc
CFLAGS = -Wall -Werror -Wextra

#
# Project files
#
SRCS = file1.c file2.c file3.c file4.c
OBJS = $(SRCS:.c=.o)
EXE  = exefile

#
# Debug build settings
#
DBGDIR = debug
DBGEXE = $(DBGDIR)/$(EXE)
DBGOBJS = $(addprefix $(DBGDIR)/, $(OBJS))
DBGCFLAGS = -g -O0 -DDEBUG

#
# Release build settings
#
RELDIR = release
RELEXE = $(RELDIR)/$(EXE)
RELOBJS = $(addprefix $(RELDIR)/, $(OBJS))
RELCFLAGS = -O3 -DNDEBUG

.PHONY: all clean debug prep release remake

# Default build
all: prep release

#
# Debug rules
#
debug: $(DBGEXE)

$(DBGEXE): $(DBGOBJS)
    $(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(DBGCFLAGS) -o $(DBGEXE) $^

$(DBGDIR)/%.o: %.c
    $(CC) -c $(CFLAGS) $(DBGCFLAGS) -o $@ $<

#
# Release rules
#
release: $(RELEXE)

$(RELEXE): $(RELOBJS)
    $(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(RELCFLAGS) -o $(RELEXE) $^

$(RELDIR)/%.o: %.c
    $(CC) -c $(CFLAGS) $(RELCFLAGS) -o $@ $<

#
# Other rules
#
prep:
    @mkdir -p $(DBGDIR) $(RELDIR)

remake: clean all

clean:
    rm -f $(RELEXE) $(RELOBJS) $(DBGEXE) $(DBGOBJS)

If by configure release/build, you mean you only need one config per makefile, then it is simply a matter and decoupling CC and CFLAGS:

CFLAGS=-DDEBUG
#CFLAGS=-O2 -DNDEBUG
CC=g++ -g3 -gdwarf2 $(CFLAGS)

Depending on whether you can use gnu makefile, you can use conditional to make this a bit fancier, and control it from the command line:

DEBUG ?= 1
ifeq ($(DEBUG), 1)
    CFLAGS =-DDEBUG
else
    CFLAGS=-DNDEBUG
endif

.o: .c
    $(CC) -c $< -o $@ $(CFLAGS)

and then use:

make DEBUG=0
make DEBUG=1

If you need to control both configurations at the same time, I think it is better to have build directories, and one build directory / config.

Note that you can also make your Makefile simpler, at the same time:

DEBUG ?= 1
ifeq (DEBUG, 1)
    CFLAGS =-g3 -gdwarf2 -DDEBUG
else
    CFLAGS=-DNDEBUG
endif

CXX = g++ $(CFLAGS)
CC = gcc $(CFLAGS)

EXECUTABLE = output
OBJECTS = CommandParser.tab.o CommandParser.yy.o Command.o
LIBRARIES = -lfl

all: $(EXECUTABLE)

$(EXECUTABLE): $(OBJECTS)
    $(CXX) -o $@ $^ $(LIBRARIES)

%.yy.o: %.l 
    flex -o $*.yy.c $<
    $(CC) -c $*.yy.c

%.tab.o: %.y
    bison -d $<
    $(CXX) -c $*.tab.c

%.o: %.cpp
    $(CXX) -c $<

clean:
    rm -f $(EXECUTABLE) $(OBJECTS) *.yy.c *.tab.c

Now you don't have to repeat filenames all over the place. Any .l files will get passed through flex and gcc, any .y files will get passed through bison and g++, and any .cpp files through just g++.

Just list the .o files you expect to end up with, and Make will do the work of figuring out which rules can satisfy the needs...

for the record:

$@ The name of the target file (the one before the colon)

$< The name of the first (or only) prerequisite file (the first one after the colon)

$^ The names of all the prerequisite files (space separated)

$* The stem (the bit which matches the % wildcard in the rule definition.

you can have a variable

DEBUG = 0

then you can use a conditional statement

  ifeq ($(DEBUG),1)

  else

  endif

Completing the answers from earlier... You need to reference the variables you define info in your commands...

DEBUG ?= 1
ifeq (DEBUG, 1)
    CFLAGS =-g3 -gdwarf2 -DDEBUG
else
    CFLAGS=-DNDEBUG
endif

CXX = g++ $(CFLAGS)
CC = gcc $(CFLAGS)

all: executable

executable: CommandParser.tab.o CommandParser.yy.o Command.o
    $(CXX) -o output CommandParser.yy.o CommandParser.tab.o Command.o -lfl

CommandParser.yy.o: CommandParser.l 
    flex -o CommandParser.yy.c CommandParser.l
    $(CC) -c CommandParser.yy.c

CommandParser.tab.o: CommandParser.y
    bison -d CommandParser.y
    $(CXX) -c CommandParser.tab.c

Command.o: Command.cpp
    $(CXX) -c Command.cpp

clean:
    rm -f CommandParser.tab.* CommandParser.yy.* output *.o

You could also add something simple to your Makefile such as

ifeq ($(DEBUG),1)
   OPTS = -g
endif

Then compile it for debugging

make DEBUG=1