diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 81a80ea..7738920 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -22,8 +22,8 @@ OBJS	   = $(SRC:%.cc=$(OBJ_DIR)/%.o)
 
 # -- Configurable parameters: ----------------------------
 # Section II:
-CC	= g++
-LD	= g++
+CXX ?= g++
+LD	?= g++
 FLAGS	= -Wall
 # include the path to your libmysqlclient as one of the -L's
 LD_FLAGS = -L/usr/lib/mysql -L/usr/local/mysql/lib \
@@ -69,10 +69,10 @@ CURDATE = `date +%y%m%d`
 all:	sql.so
 
 $(OBJ_DIR)/%.o: %.cc
-	$(CC) -c $(INCLUDE) $(EXTRA_FLAGS) $(FLAGS) -o $@ $<
+	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) -c $(INCLUDE) $(EXTRA_FLAGS) $(FLAGS) -o $@ $<
 
 sql.so:	$(OBJS)
-	$(LD) $(OBJS) $(EXTRA_LINKS) $(LD_FLAGS) $(EXTRA_LD_FLAGS) -o sql.so
+	$(CXX) $(LDFLAGS) $(EXTRA_LINKS) $(OBJS) -o sql.so $(LD_FLAGS) $(EXTRA_LD_FLAGS) -ltcl
 
 clean:
 	@ rm -f *~ $(OBJ_DIR)/*.o sql.so