Re: new to make (GNU make on NT 4.0)

[Paul D. Smith]

%% David Luchin <address@hidden> writes:

  dl> If you don't give make a specific target on the command line, make will
  dl> build the first target listed in the makefile.  In this case, that is "
  dl> %.obj ".

Not so.

Make will choose the first _explicit_ target.

An implicit (suffix or pattern) rule can never be the default, since it
doesn't match any particular file.

  dl> make -f makefile --jobs=1 -k ctest

--jobs=1 is completely unnecessary.  If you don't give any -j option,
then the number of jobs to run in parallel is 1 (serial invocation), so
--jobs=1 (or -j 1) is redundant.

  >> I'm using GNU make 3.79 on windows NT 4.0 sp 5 and a Borland C 3.1
  >> compiler.

First, you should get the latest version, GNU make 3.79.1.

Are you using GNU make from the FSF, or the one that comes with the
Cygnus toolkit?

  >> I through that I should start wit a small and simple "make file",
  >> with just 2 source files, and 1 header file. My problem is that
  >> often when I tries to recompile, it's only one of the source files
  >> that gets compiled (I've deleted the all obj, and exe files
  >> first). If I then run the compiler again, the last source file gets
  >> compiled, and the .exe file gets linked. I also noticed that if I
  >> write exit in the command prompt, it seams like there still is some
  >> compilation running, like the make job started to compile both
  >> source files at once.

See above about -j.

I don't know enough about Windows behavior, so I can't answer directly.
Your makefile looks OK to me.

One thing I _would_ do, if possible, is switch from using backslashes to
using forward slashes.  It's _much_ safer, and most Windows programs
will accept either (the exception being the DOS commands like del, I
think).

Anyway, I would try adding the -d option, or using one of the specific
--debug flags, to try to find out what make is doing and why it's not
building what you think it should.  Without a more detailed description
of exactly what's going wrong there's not much more I can say.

-- 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Paul D. Smith <address@hidden>          Find some GNU make tips at:
 http://www.gnu.org                      http://www.paulandlesley.org/gmake/
 "Please remain calm...I may be mad, but I am a professional." --Mad Scientist