%% "Jan Beulich" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: jb> In a makefile like presented in the first response to this issue, jb> it is claimed that it is appropriate for $? to be empty. However, jb> I would assume that if $? is empty and if the target exists, then jb> there is no need to remake the target. Or, to say it the other way jb> around, if an existing target is remade it should be safe to jb> assume $? is non-empty.
jb> Further, the documentation says in 'Rules without Commands or jb> Prerequisites': 'If a rule has no prerequisites or commands, and jb> the target of the rule is a nonexistent file, then make imagines jb> this target to have been updated whenever its rule is run. This jb> implies that all targets depending on this one will always have jb> their commands run.' This, to me, also implies that dependencies jb> like the commonly used FORCE target should be visible in $?. Sorry, Jan, but I don't understand your comments here and how they relate to either bug #8154 (other than that they are both about $?) or the FORCE stuff you mention. That bug talks about updating archives where there is no command to update them; you appear to be talking about something completely different here. Most of the time an example is worth a few hundred words, at least: can you please provide a simple couple of lines of makefile to reproduce the situation you are seeing, show the output make gives, and explain exactly why you feel this is incorrect? We can move on from there. Just to be clear, I tried this makefile: $ cat Makefile foo: FORCE ; @echo '$$? = $?' FORCE: $ make $? = FORCE every time, so I don't understand your comment that FORCE should be visible in $?, as if it weren't visible there... it IS visible there? -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Paul D. Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Find some GNU make tips at: http://www.gnu.org http://make.paulandlesley.org "Please remain calm...I may be mad, but I am a professional." --Mad Scientist _______________________________________________ Bug-make mailing list Bug-make@gnu.org http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/bug-make