Re: make -q and maintainer-makefile issues?

[Eric Blake]

On 08/11/2011 12:28 PM, Paul Eggert wrote:
> * modules/configmake (configmake.h): Update configmake.h's time stamp
> even if the file does not change.  Otherwise, 'make -q' fails.
> Problem reported by Simon Josefsson in
> <http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-gnulib/2011-08/msg00088.html>.

Ouch.  This goes against the idea that configmake.h should not change 
timestamps if it does not change contents, since it can result in a lot 
of needless recompilations.  I think we need a better solution that 
involves a stamp file; where C programs that depend on the definitions 
depend on configmake.h, but make rules that ensure configmake.h is 
correct instead depend on the stamp file rather than configmake.h, and 
where the stamp file always has an up-to-date timestamp any time the 
rules get rerun even if configmake.h does not change.

--
Eric Blake   address@hidden    +1-801-349-2682
Libvirt virtualization library http://libvirt.org