Re: non understood error message

[Michael L Brown]

"Philip Guenther" <address@hidden> wrote on 06/28/2007 04:52:19 PM:

> On 6/28/07, Michael L Brown <address@hidden> wrote:
> ...
> >  The error is:
> >
> >  Makefile:84: *** commands commence before first target. Stop.
> ...
> >  Line 84 is: $(warning unknown architecture '$(ARCH)')
> >
> >  Any ideas as to why it is complaining?
>
> Did you read what the info pages for GNU make say about that error message?
>
>   `commands commence before first target.  Stop.'
>   `missing rule before commands.  Stop.'
>        This means the first thing in the makefile seems to be part of a
>        command script: it begins with a TAB character and doesn't appear
>        to be a legal `make' command (such as a variable assignment).
>        Command scripts must always be associated with a target.

You have every right to yell at me (figuratively :-) for not looking that
up.  I personally cannot stand info.  I think that program is extremely
difficult to navigate.  Who ever thought of info must have been on
something when the navigation scheme was laid out.

I've printed the gmake manual, but it is still in one of the orange crates
used for our move.

I was getting ready to run out the door, so I got lazy and quickly put
together an e-mail.

> I.e., you indented a line with a tab before the first rule definition.
>  Look like you stripped all the indentation when you copied your
> makefile bits into your email (please don't do that) and that the
> $(warning) call on line 84 was preceeded by a tab.  Change that tab to
> spaces and configure your editor to not do any conversion of tabs and
> spaces when editing makefiles.

Turns out there were indeed tabs in there. The tabs started about 5
lines before the line it complained about. I didn't write the original
file. I personally use vi and do not have it set up to put in tabs.
I manually put in tabs. In this case, the original author put them
there and I didn't see that, since they look like spaces on my
screen. :-) :-) Most others around here use xemacs.

That should do the trick.

I appreciate the response. I'm moving "prison cubes" again in the near
future. At that time I'll be unpacking the gmake manual :-)

MB
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Mike Brown (address@hidden)
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