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| -rw-r--r-- | make.texinfo | 25 |
1 files changed, 15 insertions, 10 deletions
diff --git a/make.texinfo b/make.texinfo index 25e4981..75eeed5 100644 --- a/make.texinfo +++ b/make.texinfo @@ -6,11 +6,10 @@ @smallbook @c %**end of header -@set EDITION 0.34 Beta +@set EDITION 0.35 Beta @set VERSION 3.63 Beta -@set UPDATED 23 July 1992 -@c !!!!! is there a reason not to use the full date in the title page? -rm -@set UPDATE-MONTH July 1992 +@set UPDATED 14 August 1992 +@set UPDATE-MONTH August 1992 @c finalout @@ -1723,10 +1722,12 @@ clean: @end group @end example -A phony target should not be a dependency of a real target file; strange -things can result from that. As long as you do not do that, the phony -target commands will be executed only when the phony target is a specified -goal (@pxref{Goals, ,Arguments to Specify the Goals}). +A phony target should not be a dependency of a real target file; if it +is, its commands are run every time @code{make} goes to update that +file. As long as a phony target is never a dependency of a real +target, the phony target commands will be executed only when the phony +target is a specified goal (@pxref{Goals, ,Arguments to Specify the +Goals}). Phony targets can have dependencies. When one directory contains multiple programs, it is most convenient to describe all of the programs in one @@ -1792,8 +1793,12 @@ There is nothing special about the name @samp{FORCE}, but that is one name commonly used this way. As you can see, using @samp{FORCE} this way has the same results as using -@samp{.PHONY: clean}. The latter is more explicit, but other versions of -@code{make} do not support it; thus @samp{FORCE} appears in many makefiles. +@samp{.PHONY: clean}. + +Using @samp{.PHONY} is more explicit, more efficient, and more secure, +since it protects against the file actually existing. However, other +versions of @code{make} do not support @samp{.PHONY}; thus +@samp{FORCE} appears in many makefiles. @xref{Phony Targets}. @node Empty Targets, Special Targets, Force Targets, Rules @section Empty Target Files to Record Events |