make stdlinks & make depend

[Greg Chavez]

So, I've just done an upgrade from 8.1.2 to 8.2.3 (yes, I know, upgrade to
the latest 9 version, that's next).  I'm just curious about something.
What do 'make stdlinks' and 'make depend' do exactly?  Outside of BIND,
I've never used these kinds of options before (ah, bless'ed pkgadd).  I
assume its linking libraries or somesuch, but what's up with /var/obj?
Why is that directory even necessary?  Where are these files placed if you
don't use stdlinks?  What are the ramifications of such a bold move?

As you can see, I'm just darned confused.  For information purposes,
clarification of the stdlinks and depends options would be greatly
appreciated.

--Greg Chavez