Makefiles with source files in different directories

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The traditional way is to have a Makefile in each of the subdirectories (part1, part2, etc.) allowing you to build them independently. Further, have a Makefile in the root directory of the project which builds everything. The “root” Makefile would look something like the following: 

all:
    +$(MAKE) -C part1
    +$(MAKE) -C part2
    +$(MAKE) -C part3

Since each line in a make target is run in its own shell, there is no need to worry about traversing back up the directory tree or to other directories.

I suggest taking a look at the GNU make manual section 5.7; it is very helpful.

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