> previous_var: > echo $(VAR) > previous_var > .PHONY: previous_var
I suggest you eliminate this .PHONY - previous_var is a real file on disk, so not a phony target. There might be a case for it to be declared .PHONY in an *else* clause, when PREVIOUS_VAR agrees with VAR. > /source/test $ make VAR=abc > cat: previous_var: No such file or directory I suggest PREVIOUS_VAR := $(if $(wildcard previous_var),$(shell cat previous_var),) to avoid that one, or simply PREVIOUS_VAR := $(shell cat previous_var 2>/dev/null) Not that I expect either of these to fix your problem (albeit the first might) ! Eddy. _______________________________________________ Bug-make mailing list Bug-make@gnu.org http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/bug-make