On Tue, 2007-07-31 at 09:55 +0200, Torsten Mohr wrote: > as i understand it the resolution of the timestamps of files is 1 second. > Is this sufficient for "make" to work correctly? Especially as nowadays > PCs get more and more powerful? Is it possible that problems can occur > from that?
Make uses the resolution of the underlying filesystem. Many modern filesystems support sub-second timestamp resolutions and, where they do, make will use them. Other filesystems, such as some DOS/Windows filesystems, use super-second timestamps. Also, some file formats (such as ar (static library) files) use second timestamps internally regardless of the underlying filesystem. It's true that make can make incorrect rebuild decisions of your system is too fast for your filesystem's timestamp resolution. There is a GSoC project underway right now which will add a feature of "user definable out of date detection"; this should allow users to use md5sum or other advanced criteria for determining when files are out of date. > Another question, i heard that on some windows systems a file that is > saved on a network drive gets the timestamp of the server it is stored on, > not the one of the client that stored the file. Is this still correct? I don't know much/anything about Windows, as I never use it, but most networked filesystems I'm aware of have the server compute the last modified timestamp of the file, yes. > For "make" this looks to be a big problem. Are any other issues like this > known where "make" could possibly fail though the user did everything correct? It's only a problem if the server and the client have very different system clocks. That's why, if you're building over the network, it's absolutely critical that ALL your systems (clients and serves) use NTP or some other very reliable method for syncing clocks. It's a good idea anyway, but it's mandatory for make-based build environments. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 _______________________________________________ Help-make mailing list Help-make@gnu.org http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/help-make