%% Gernot Ziegler <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: gz> Now my problem is rather ... simple: I wish to use $(OSTYPE) in my gz> Makefile, and the code I am using is The funny thing is that a gz> simple "make" on my Linux machine (Not on the IRIX, it works there gz> with GNU make) doesn't find this OSTYPE env variable, it reports gz> it to be empty
gz> but as soon as I reset the variable with gz> [root@c94 texmpeg]# export OSTYPE=linux-gnu gz> it works !! gz> That's a real weirdie, isn't it ? ;) I don't know why you think it's weird: you have solved your own problem. Shell builtin variables like OSTYPE are not exported by default. They are defined only in the shell. So, any program the shell creates, _including make_, cannot see that value just as it couldn't see any other non-exported value. Once you export it, then it becomes visible to subprocesses (BTW, you don't have to reset the value, just use "export OSTYPE"). But, note that this variable is set by your shell (bash) and is a shell-specific feature. That means that if other people use different shells (sh, csh, tcsh, ksh, etc.) and try to invoke your build environment, it will fail. I strongly recommend _against_ using this kind of environment-specific value in your makefiles. Try this, for a more portable solution: OSTYPE := $(shell uname -msr) Or season the options to uname to taste. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Paul D. Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Find some GNU make tips at: http://www.gnu.org http://make.paulandlesley.org "Please remain calm...I may be mad, but I am a professional." --Mad Scientist _______________________________________________ Bug-make mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/bug-make
