VPATH in GNU make

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1 total messages Started by Jason Merrill Sun, 29 Mar 1992 09:22

#122

Author: Jason Merrill
Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1992 09:22

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The GNU Make 3.62 info file has this to say:

   * In System V and 4.3 BSD `make', files found by `VPATH' search
     (*Ref Directory Search::.) have their names changed inside
     command strings.  We feel it is much cleaner to always use
     automatic variables and thus make this feature obsolete.

I'd like to argue with this.  It's a real pain to go through other people's
makfiles changing blah.c to $^ or even $(firstword $^) when you're
converting makefiles that were never meant to use VPATHs.  And after you've
done this, you can't use the makefile with other makes anymore.

For an example of a makefile for which this is necessary, consider the etc
directory makefile in the Emacs 18.58 distribution.  I think that
deliberately omitting this feature of make makes my life more difficult
without good reason.

--
Jason Merrill
jason@jarthur.claremont.edu

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