Re: only run submake if that submake needs to be run?

[David Wuertele]

Boris> I think you are trying to solve the wrong problem. Here is some
Boris> background.  There are two ways to write makefiles for a
Boris> project: recursive (your case) and non-recursive.

Your explanation hits the nail on the head.  You are correct about the
speed issues and the parallel make issues inherent in my system.

The reason I chose recursive in the first place was for a couple of
reasons:

1.  I want to be able to run make in the sub-directory and have it
    work

2.  I want to use the same variable namespace for all the makefiles.
    For example, I don't want one of my users to have to create
    variable names like:

      my_program_OBJ := this.o that.o

    I want them to be able to write:

      OBJ := this.o that.o

    This is an oversimplified example for the purposes of making the
    point.  I want them to be able to copy their neighbor's Makefile
    and not have to change all the variable names.

Is there a way to write makefiles in a non-recursive fashion that will
enable me to acheive both goals?

Thanks,
Dave