Re: [Mingw-users] cfg.mk:20: *** Recursive variable `PATH' references itself (eventually). Stop. while compiling autoconf

[Keith Marshall]

On Tuesday 30 September 2008 05:57:06 Eric Blake wrote:
> According to Keith Marshall on 9/29/2008 5:25 PM:
> > On this occasion, the `in place' failure is particularly nasty;
> > the `all' primary goal proceeds normally, until it attempts to
> > satisfy the `all-am' secondary goal, at which point it starts
> > *installing* the partially built package -- very nasty, because
> > it wasn't asked to install anything yet, but it is identifying
> > the `install' goal as the only candidate to satisfy the
> > `$(srcdir)/INSTALL' prerequisite -- and, because `install' itself
> > depends on the only partially completed `all' goal, this recurses
> > indefinitely.
>
> Sounds like the case-insensitive make behavior is still biting us,
> then (which we previously determined only afflicts in-place
> builds); I guess Stepan's patch didn't work as expected [1],[2]. 
> Could you please track down the config.log snippets related to
> checking for case-insensitive make (ie. what is MAKE_CASE_SENSITIVE
> set to in the Makefile.in?)

configure:2902: checking whether make is case sensitive
configure:2918: result: no

...

ac_cv_prog_make_make_case=no

...

MAKE_CASE_SENSITIVE_FALSE=''
MAKE_CASE_SENSITIVE_TRUE='#'

> Also, does this patch help?
> ...

Yes; it resolves the issue I have observed, allowing the in-place 
build to complete successfully, (both `make all' and `make install').

Thanks.

> Perhaps it is worth filing this as a bug of GNU make's
> case-insensitive mode, for confusing phony targets of a different
> case than real targets, but only when they occur in the same
> directory.

Maybe.  I'll post one, when I can find the time.  Another option may 
be to avoid any explicit mention of the ambiguous `INSTALL' goal, (as 
a file, it could equally well be called `install', and it would still 
be the same file); rather have it created as a side effect of a new 
unambiguous goal, (e.g. `INSTALL.stamp').

Regards,
Keith.