What is use of a makefile?

Question

What is the purpose of a makefile, .pro file?

Answer 1

Makefiles simplify executing the necessary commands for building a program, I'll point you to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makefile for details on makefiles (something you can easily look up yourself).

The *.pro-file is a Qt-specific artifact for qmake projects, which you could also easily look up on Google: http://doc.trolltech.com/4.1/qmake-project-files.html

Answer 2

It's a platform independent file used to create platform specific make files when the project is actually compiled.

You might want to read this: Qmake manual - 4.5