MARSELLE%gmr.com@RELAY.CS.NET (05/15/87)
The other day I read someone's suggestion to use a "make -f .hushlogin"
in the .login file to only print out /etc/motd when its last mod time
changes. Since no further advice regarding what .hushlogin should look
like was provided, I did a little hacking.
If I use a .hushlogin which looks like this:
.hushlogin: /etc/motd
cat /etc/motd
touch .hushlogin
I get:
Make: No arguments or description file. Stop.
I thought it might have something to do with the '.' in the
first column, so I tried:
hushlogin: /etc/motd
cat /etc/motd
touch .hushlogin hushlogin
which works fine, but uses a 2nd file "hushlogin".
If I put a backslash in front of the '.' like so:
\.hushlogin: /etc/motd
cat /etc/motd
touch .hushlogin
it always cat's and touch'es.
Are there any "make" aces out there that know what's going on here?
BTW, I noticed that if you have a .hushlogin, the "You have mail"
message is also suppressed when you login, so I put the "mail"
command into my .login.
Also, even if you use "make -s -f .hushlogin" to suppress the make
chatter, make will still print out "`.hushlogin' is up to date"
when you log in and /etc/motd hasn't been changed.
I think I'll switch to someone else's suggestion and try:
cmp -s .hushlogin /etc/motd
if ($status) then
cat /etc/motd | tee .hushlogin
endif
then I won't have to deal with make.
____________________________________________________
|Jim Marselle | Phone: (313) 986-1413 |
|GM Research Labs | csnet: marselle@gmr.com |
|Computer Science Dept. | |
|30500 Mound Road | |
|Warren, MI 48090-9057 | |
----------------------------------------------------dce@mips.UUCP (05/16/87)
In article <7407@brl-adm.ARPA> MARSELLE%gmr.com@RELAY.CS.NET writes: > >If I use a .hushlogin which looks like this: > >.hushlogin: /etc/motd > cat /etc/motd > touch .hushlogin > >I get: >Make: No arguments or description file. Stop. > This is very obscure, but documented (I don't remember where, but I found it when I was rewriting the make manual page at Tektronix). The idea is that the "default target" is the first target in the file that does not begin with a '.'. This is done so that you can do things like .SUFFIXES: .c .s ... ... all: $(PGM) ... and be able to say 'make' and mean 'make all'. The easiest solution is to add the line all: .hushlogin at the end of the file, so you end up with: .hushlogin: /etc/motd @-cat /etc/motd @-touch .hushlogin all: .hushlogin (The '@-' tells make to ignore exit codes and to not print the data.) Still, all this is no better than find /etc/motd -newer .hushlogin -exec cat '{}' \; touch .hushlogin If you really want to see /etc/motd when it changes, use the "cmp" stuff. -- David Elliott {decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4}!decwrl!mips!dce
dhesi@bsu-cs.UUCP (Rahul Dhesi) (05/17/87)
In article <7407@brl-adm.ARPA> MARSELLE%gmr.com@RELAY.CS.NET writes: >The other day I read someone's suggestion to use a "make -f .hushlogin" >in the .login file to only print out /etc/motd when its last mod time >changes. [discussion of many variations of this, leading to:] >I think I'll switch to someone else's suggestion and try [something else.] Here is a solution I actually used for some years with 4.2BSD: find /etc -name motd -newer .hushlogin \ -a -exec cat /etc/motd \; \ -a -exec touch .hushlogin On the face of it this could be ineffeicient. But since /etc turns out to have no subdirectories (under 4.2BSD) it's actually pretty fast. Please check the syntax since I am quoting from memory. The real solution is: GET RID OF THAT /ETC/MOTD!!! Use a sensible one-time message utility like "msgs" (4.xBSD) or "news" (System V). -- Rahul Dhesi UUCP: {ihnp4,seismo}!{iuvax,pur-ee}!bsu-cs!dhesi
sbanner1@uvicctr.UUCP (05/22/87)
In article <7407@brl-adm.ARPA> MARSELLE%gmr.com@RELAY.CS.NET writes: >If I use a .hushlogin which looks like this: > >.hushlogin: /etc/motd > cat /etc/motd > touch .hushlogin > >I get: >Make: No arguments or description file. Stop. >I think I'll switch to someone else's suggestion and try: > >cmp -s .hushlogin /etc/motd >if ($status) then > cat /etc/motd | tee .hushlogin >endif This is the first thing in my .login, and I have a null .login. I have had no problems with it. I only get the message when the file changes. # Check for the message of the day. find /etc/motd -newer ~/.hushlogin -exec cat /etc/motd \; touch ~/.hushlogin S. John Banner ...!uw-beaver!uvicctr!sol!sbanner1 ...!ubc-vision!uvicctr!sol!sbanner1 ccsjb@uvvm sbanner1@sol.UVIC.CDN
brandon@tdi2.UUCP (Brandon Allbery) (05/23/87)
Quoted from <7407@brl-adm.ARPA> [".hushlogin"], by MARSELLE%gmr.com@RELAY.CS.NET... +--------------- | If I use a .hushlogin which looks like this: | | .hushlogin: /etc/motd | cat /etc/motd | touch .hushlogin | | I get: | Make: No arguments or description file. Stop. +--------------- A make rule starting with a period is a generic rule for converting a file with some suffix to a file with another suffix (or a file with no suffix). Thus, make sees a rule to convert xxx.hushlogin to xxx for any xxx, but no other commands to actually do anything. Backslashing the `.' makes it a normal (i.e. specific) rule, so make has something to do. +--------------- | Also, even if you use "make -s -f .hushlogin" to suppress the make | chatter, make will still print out "`.hushlogin' is up to date" | when you log in and /etc/motd hasn't been changed. +--------------- A ``kluge'' I use to get around this is: all: foo foo: (dependencies and commands) Actually, `all' may be any file you don't have. Since there is no file `all' and your rules don't create one, make is silent about its (non)existence. ++Brando -- Brandon S. Allbery UUCP: cbatt!cwruecmp!ncoast!tdi2!brandon Tridelta Industries, Inc. CSNET: ncoast!allbery@Case 7350 Corporate Blvd. INTERNET: ncoast!allbery%Case.CSNET@relay.CS.NET Mentor, Ohio 44060 PHONE: +1 216 255 1080 (home +1 216 974 9210)