[gnu.utils.bug] questions/comments about GNU Make

Leisner.Henr@XEROX.COM (Marty) (08/22/89)

This contains some interesting differences between SunOS 4.0.1 make and GNU
make 3.54.

GNUmake doesn't have a .KEEP_STATE feature.  I suppose it should be added
to the Missing Features.  I'm not sure how useful .KEEP_STATE is, I've
never used it.

SunOS make defines $(MAKE) in the defaults.mk file while gnumake
dynamically figures it out if it's in argv[0].  This has the surprising
side effect in the following cases:
	you specify /bin/make to run on a recursive tree of makefiles using the
system make, envoked with $(MAKE).
	gnumake is called make and is in front of /bin/make on your path.
	The first makefile will be processed by the system make, latter makefiles
will be processed by GNUmake.  Ugghhh!!
	

SunOS makes only puts the variables defined in the makefile, the command
line or inherited in the environment in the child's environment.  GNUmake
puts everything into the environment, even variables never referenced (i.e.
like:
F77=$(FC)
F77FLAGS=$(FFLAGS)
FC=f77
).  Not saying its a bug, it's just different.

marty
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