diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 77ff7ad..6b89fac 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
 
 scripts
 venv
-build/
 build-*/
 compile_flags.txt
 ._*
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 1776473..79f1fb1 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -3,7 +3,16 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
 
 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.20)
-project(binsparse VERSION 1.0.0)
+
+set ( BINSPARSE_DATE "FIXME, 2026" )
+set ( BINSPARSE_VERSION_MAJOR 1 )
+set ( BINSPARSE_VERSION_MINOR 0 )
+set ( BINSPARSE_VERSION_PATCH 0 )
+
+project(binsparse)
+
+set ( PROJECT_VERSION
+    "${BINSPARSE_VERSION_MAJOR}.${BINSPARSE_VERSION_MINOR}.${BINSPARSE_VERSION_PATCH}")
 
 cmake_policy(SET CMP0079 NEW)
 
@@ -12,16 +21,45 @@ set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 20)
 
 # FIXME: -march=native is not portable
 # set(CMAKE_C_FLAGS "-O3 -march=native")
-set(CMAKE_C_FLAGS "-g ")
-set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS "-g ")
+# set(CMAKE_C_FLAGS "-g ")
+# set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS "-g ")
+
+if ( NOT CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE )
+    set ( CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE Release )
+endif ( )
+
+if ( ${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE} STREQUAL "Debug" )
+    set ( CMAKE_C_FLAGS   "${CMAKE_C_FLAGS} ${CMAKE_C_FLAGS_DEBUG}" )
+    set ( CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS} ${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_DEBUG}" )
+else ( )
+    set ( CMAKE_C_FLAGS   "${CMAKE_C_FLAGS} ${CMAKE_C_FLAGS_RELEASE}" )
+    set ( CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS} ${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_RELEASE}" )
+endif ( )
+message ( STATUS "Build type: ${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE} ")
+message ( STATUS "C   flags:  ${CMAKE_C_FLAGS}" )
+message ( STATUS "C++ flags:  ${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS}" )
 
 option(ENABLE_SANITIZERS "Enable Clang sanitizers" OFF)
 
 include(GNUInstallDirs)
 
-add_library(binsparse STATIC)
+add_library(binsparse_static STATIC)
 add_library(binsparse_dynamic SHARED)
 
+set_target_properties ( binsparse_static PROPERTIES
+    OUTPUT_NAME binsparse
+    VERSION "${BINSPARSE_VERSION_MAJOR}.${BINSPARSE_VERSION_MINOR}.${BINSPARSE_VERSION_PATCH}"
+    SOVERSION ${BINSPARSE_VERSION_MAJOR}
+    WINDOWS_EXPORT_ALL_SYMBOLS ON
+    )
+
+set_target_properties ( binsparse_dynamic PROPERTIES
+    OUTPUT_NAME binsparse
+    VERSION "${BINSPARSE_VERSION_MAJOR}.${BINSPARSE_VERSION_MINOR}.${BINSPARSE_VERSION_PATCH}"
+    SOVERSION ${BINSPARSE_VERSION_MAJOR}
+    WINDOWS_EXPORT_ALL_SYMBOLS ON
+    )
+
 add_subdirectory(include)
 add_subdirectory(src)
 
@@ -30,8 +68,9 @@ add_subdirectory(src)
 # these to `PRIVATE` to use them only when building binsparse.
 
 find_package(HDF5 REQUIRED COMPONENTS C)
-target_link_libraries(binsparse PUBLIC ${HDF5_C_LIBRARIES})
+target_link_libraries(binsparse_static PUBLIC ${HDF5_C_LIBRARIES})
 target_link_libraries(binsparse_dynamic PUBLIC ${HDF5_C_LIBRARIES})
+message ( STATUS "HD5F include: ${HDF5_INCLUDE_DIRS}" )
 
 include(FetchContent)
 
@@ -52,11 +91,11 @@ FetchContent_MakeAvailable(cJSON)
 set(BUILD_SHARED_LIBS ${BUILD_SHARED_LIBS_BACKUP})
 
 configure_file(${cJSON_SOURCE_DIR}/cJSON.h ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/include/cJSON/cJSON.h)
-target_link_libraries(binsparse PRIVATE cjson)
+target_link_libraries(binsparse_static PRIVATE cjson)
 target_link_libraries(binsparse_dynamic PRIVATE cjson)
 
 # Set up include directories properly for both build and install
-target_include_directories(${PROJECT_NAME}
+target_include_directories(binsparse_static
     PUBLIC
         $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}>
         $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/include>
@@ -73,8 +112,8 @@ target_include_directories(binsparse_dynamic
         ${HDF5_INCLUDE_DIRS})
 
 # Installation rules - these are always needed when the library is built
-install(TARGETS binsparse
-        EXPORT binsparse-targets
+install(TARGETS binsparse_static
+        EXPORT binsparse-targets_static
         LIBRARY DESTINATION ${CMAKE_INSTALL_LIBDIR}
         ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${CMAKE_INSTALL_LIBDIR}
         RUNTIME DESTINATION ${CMAKE_INSTALL_BINDIR}
@@ -93,8 +132,8 @@ install(DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/include/binsparse
                        PATTERN "*.hpp")
 
 # Export targets
-install(EXPORT binsparse-targets
-        FILE binsparse-targets.cmake
+install(EXPORT binsparse-targets_static
+        FILE binsparse-targets_static.cmake
         NAMESPACE binsparse::
         DESTINATION ${CMAKE_INSTALL_LIBDIR}/cmake/binsparse)
 install(EXPORT binsparse-targets_dynamic
@@ -124,8 +163,8 @@ if(CMAKE_PROJECT_NAME STREQUAL PROJECT_NAME)
 
   if (ENABLE_SANITIZERS)
       set(SANITIZER_FLAGS "-fsanitize=address,undefined")
-      target_compile_options(binsparse INTERFACE ${SANITIZER_FLAGS} -g -O1 -fno-omit-frame-pointer)
-      target_link_options(binsparse INTERFACE ${SANITIZER_FLAGS})
+      target_compile_options(binsparse_static INTERFACE ${SANITIZER_FLAGS} -g -O1 -fno-omit-frame-pointer)
+      target_link_options(binsparse_static INTERFACE ${SANITIZER_FLAGS})
       target_compile_options(binsparse_dynamic INTERFACE ${SANITIZER_FLAGS} -g -O1 -fno-omit-frame-pointer)
       target_link_options(binsparse_dynamic INTERFACE ${SANITIZER_FLAGS})
   endif()
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5186f58
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# binsparse-reference-c/Makefile
+#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2024 Binsparse Developers
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+
+default: library
+
+library:
+	( cd build && cmake $(CMAKE_OPTIONS) .. && cmake --build . --config Release )
+
+debug:
+	( cd build && cmake $(CMAKE_OPTIONS) -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug .. ; cmake --build . --config Debug )
+
+all: library
+
+tests:
+	( cd build ; make test )
+
+install:
+	( cd build && cmake --install . )
+
+# remove any installed libraries and #include files
+uninstall:
+	- xargs rm < build/install_manifest.txt
+
+# remove all files not in the distribution
+clean: distclean
+
+purge: distclean
+
+distclean:
+	- $(RM) -rf build/* Config/*.tmp
+
+docs:
+
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 29a5a82..0d5a924 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -50,58 +50,20 @@ all dependencies except for:
 HDF5 should be automatically detected, provided an installation is present on
 the system.
 
-```bash
-bbrock@rjohns3-mobl2:~/src/binsparse-reference-c$ cmake -B build
--- The C compiler identification is AppleClang 15.0.0.15000309
--- The CXX compiler identification is AppleClang 15.0.0.15000309
--- Detecting C compiler ABI info
--- Detecting C compiler ABI info - done
--- Check for working C compiler: /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools/usr/bin/cc - skipped
--- Detecting C compile features
--- Detecting C compile features - done
--- Detecting CXX compiler ABI info
--- Detecting CXX compiler ABI info - done
--- Check for working CXX compiler: /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools/usr/bin/c++ - skipped
--- Detecting CXX compile features
--- Detecting CXX compile features - done
--- Found HDF5: /opt/homebrew/Cellar/hdf5/1.14.3/lib/libhdf5.dylib;/opt/homebrew/opt/libaec/lib/libsz.dylib;/Library/Developer/CommandLineTools/SDKs/MacOSX14.4.sdk/usr/lib/libz.tbd;/Library/Developer/CommandLineTools/SDKs/MacOSX14.4.sdk/usr/lib/libdl.tbd;/Library/Developer/CommandLineTools/SDKs/MacOSX14.4.sdk/usr/lib/libm.tbd (found version "1.14.3") found components: C
-CMake Deprecation Warning at build/_deps/cjson-src/CMakeLists.txt:2 (cmake_minimum_required):
-  Compatibility with CMake < 3.5 will be removed from a future version of
-  CMake.
-
-  Update the VERSION argument <min> value or use a ...<max> suffix to tell
-  CMake that the project does not need compatibility with older versions.
-
-
--- Performing Test FLAG_SUPPORTED_fvisibilityhidden
--- Performing Test FLAG_SUPPORTED_fvisibilityhidden - Success
--- Configuring done (6.4s)
--- Generating done (0.2s)
--- Build files have been written to: /Users/bbrock/src/binsparse-reference-c/build
-bbrock@rjohns3-mobl2:~/src/binsparse-reference-c$ cd build/examples/
-bbrock@rjohns3-mobl2:~/src/binsparse-reference-c/build/examples$ make
-[  8%] Building C object _deps/cjson-build/CMakeFiles/cjson.dir/cJSON.c.o
-[ 16%] Linking C shared library libcjson.dylib
-ld: warning: search path '/opt/homebrew/Cellar/fmt/10.1.1/lib' not found
-[ 16%] Built target cjson
-[ 25%] Building C object examples/CMakeFiles/simple_matrix_write.dir/simple_matrix_write.c.o
-[ 33%] Linking C executable simple_matrix_write
-ld: warning: search path '/opt/homebrew/Cellar/fmt/10.1.1/lib' not found
-[ 33%] Built target simple_matrix_write
-[ 41%] Building C object examples/CMakeFiles/simple_matrix_read.dir/simple_matrix_read.c.o
-[ 50%] Linking C executable simple_matrix_read
-ld: warning: search path '/opt/homebrew/Cellar/fmt/10.1.1/lib' not found
-[ 50%] Built target simple_matrix_read
-[ 58%] Building C object examples/CMakeFiles/simple_read.dir/simple_read.c.o
-[ 66%] Linking C executable simple_read
-ld: warning: search path '/opt/homebrew/Cellar/fmt/10.1.1/lib' not found
-[ 66%] Built target simple_read
-[ 75%] Building C object examples/CMakeFiles/simple_write.dir/simple_write.c.o
-[ 83%] Linking C executable simple_write
-ld: warning: search path '/opt/homebrew/Cellar/fmt/10.1.1/lib' not found
-[ 83%] Built target simple_write
-[ 91%] Building C object examples/CMakeFiles/convert_binsparse.dir/convert_binsparse.c.o
-[100%] Linking C executable convert_binsparse
-ld: warning: search path '/opt/homebrew/Cellar/fmt/10.1.1/lib' not found
-[100%] Built target convert_binsparse
-```
+A simple top-level Makefile can be used to compile, test, and install
+binsparse:
+
+    make
+    make tests
+    sudu make install
+
+To remove all compiled files and libraries:
+
+    make distclean
+
+FIXME: the above will segfault because assert(...) is removed for Release.
+For now use:
+
+    make debug
+    make tests
+
diff --git a/build/.gitignore b/build/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..52e1532
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# Ignore all files except this file.
+*
+*/
+!.gitignore
diff --git a/cmake/binsparse-config.cmake.in b/cmake/binsparse-config.cmake.in
index 052bc3b..79228bd 100644
--- a/cmake/binsparse-config.cmake.in
+++ b/cmake/binsparse-config.cmake.in
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@
 
 @PACKAGE_INIT@
 
-include("${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/binsparse-targets.cmake")
-check_required_components(binsparse)
+include("${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/binsparse-targets_static.cmake")
+check_required_components(binsparse_static)
 
 # Include dependencies
 include(CMakeFindDependencyMacro)
diff --git a/examples/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/CMakeLists.txt
index e090d7c..e0c6f73 100644
--- a/examples/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
 function(add_example example_name)
   add_executable(${example_name} ${example_name}.c)
-  target_link_libraries(${example_name} binsparse)
+  target_link_libraries(${example_name} binsparse_static)
 endfunction()
 
 add_example(simple_matrix_write)
diff --git a/examples/cpp/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/cpp/CMakeLists.txt
index 5053bab..56e08e7 100644
--- a/examples/cpp/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/cpp/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
 function(add_example example_name)
   add_executable(${example_name}-cpp ${example_name}.cpp)
-  target_link_libraries(${example_name}-cpp binsparse)
+  target_link_libraries(${example_name}-cpp binsparse_static)
 endfunction()
 
 add_example(simple_matrix_write)
diff --git a/include/binsparse/convert_matrix.h b/include/binsparse/convert_matrix.h
index 3d2c12d..443155a 100644
--- a/include/binsparse/convert_matrix.h
+++ b/include/binsparse/convert_matrix.h
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@
  * SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
  */
 
+
+// FIXME: cannot use assert in production if it has any side effects when deleted
+// with -NDEBUG
+
 #pragma once
 
 #include <assert.h>
@@ -30,7 +34,7 @@ bsp_convert_matrix_allocator(bsp_matrix_t matrix, bsp_matrix_format_t format,
                              bsp_allocator_t allocator) {
   // Throw an error if matrix already in desired format.
   if (matrix.format == format) {
-    assert(false);
+    assert(false);  // FIXME: this does not throw an error when binsparse compiled for prodction
   }
 
   if (format == BSP_COOR) {
@@ -275,7 +279,7 @@ bsp_convert_matrix_allocator(bsp_matrix_t matrix, bsp_matrix_format_t format,
       free(indices);
       return result;
     } else {
-      assert(false);
+      assert(false);    // FIXME remove assert(...)
     }
   } else {
     // Convert to any another format.
@@ -493,7 +497,7 @@ bsp_convert_matrix_allocator(bsp_matrix_t matrix, bsp_matrix_format_t format,
         free(indices);
         return result;
       } else {
-        assert(false);
+        assert(false);  // FIXME remove assert(...) in production
       }
     }
   }
diff --git a/include/binsparse/types.h b/include/binsparse/types.h
index a98e938..39232d6 100644
--- a/include/binsparse/types.h
+++ b/include/binsparse/types.h
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ static inline size_t bsp_type_size(bsp_type_t type) {
   } else if (type == BSP_COMPLEX_FLOAT64) {
     return sizeof(double _Complex);
   } else {
-    assert(false);
+    assert(false);  // FIXME: assert(false) cannot appear in a production library
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/src/CMakeLists.txt b/src/CMakeLists.txt
index f966494..bad5163 100644
--- a/src/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 #
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
 
-target_sources(binsparse PRIVATE
+target_sources(binsparse_static PRIVATE
   read_matrix.c
   read_tensor.c
   write_matrix.c
diff --git a/test/c/CMakeLists.txt b/test/c/CMakeLists.txt
index dfa65da..21b6fee 100644
--- a/test/c/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/test/c/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
 
 add_executable(dvec_shape_test dvec_shape_test.c)
-target_link_libraries(dvec_shape_test binsparse)
+target_link_libraries(dvec_shape_test binsparse_static)
 
 add_test(
   NAME unit.dvec_shape
diff --git a/test/c/dvec_shape_test.c b/test/c/dvec_shape_test.c
index 1e0914a..f5cf2cf 100644
--- a/test/c/dvec_shape_test.c
+++ b/test/c/dvec_shape_test.c
@@ -4,6 +4,11 @@
  * SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
  */
 
+// FIXME asserts are empty if the library is compiled for Release.
+// use a different macro.
+
+// FIXME this test segfaults if binsparse is compiled with Release flags (-O3)
+
 #include <assert.h>
 #include <binsparse/binsparse_all.h>
 #include <cJSON/cJSON.h>