378

This is my Makefile:

REBAR=./rebar REBAR_COMPILE=$(REBAR) get-deps compile all: compile compile: $(REBAR_COMPILE) test: $(REBAR_COMPILE) skip_deps=true eunit clean: -rm -rf deps ebin priv doc/* docs: $(REBAR_COMPILE) doc ifeq ($(wildcard dialyzer/sqlite3.plt),) static: $(REBAR_COMPILE) build_plt analyze else static: $(REBAR_COMPILE) analyze endif

I can run make compile multiple times and get

aromanov@alexey-desktop:~/workspace/gm-controller/lib/erlang-sqlite$ make compile ./rebar get-deps compile ==> erlang-sqlite (get-deps) ==> erlang-sqlite (compile)

However, for some reason running make test always gives

aromanov@alexey-desktop:~/workspace/gm-controller/lib/erlang-sqlite$ make test make: `test' is up to date.

even if the files are not compiled. The question is, why?

Running the same command directly works:

aromanov@alexey-desktop:~/workspace/gm-controller/lib/erlang-sqlite$ ./rebar get-deps compile skip_deps=true eunit ==> erlang-sqlite (get-deps) ==> erlang-sqlite (compile) Compiled src/sqlite3_lib.erl Compiled src/sqlite3.erl ==> erlang-sqlite (eunit) ...
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4 Answers 4

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759

Maybe you have a file/directory named test in the directory. If this directory exists, and has no dependencies that are more recent, then this target is not rebuild.

To force rebuild on these kind of not-file-related targets, you should make them phony as follows:

.PHONY: all test clean

Note that you can declare all of your phony targets there.

A phony target is one that is not really the name of a file; rather it is just a name for a recipe to be executed when you make an explicit request.

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8 Comments

I had a directory called build and another called lib. In hindsight, these are not perfect target names. Ugh.....make.
*Where all, test, and clear are your makefile target names
Another solution is changing the label. In your case, change test for test_rule or something different.
@MattD so do I, is that a problem for make?
An explanation of what a "phony target" is would be super helpful for us noobs! This was the answer I needed, but I ignored it because I had no idea what a "phony target" was and I figured it was some advanced Make feature that wasn't related to what I wanted.
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90

It happens when you have a file with the same name as Makefile target name in the directory where the Makefile is present.

$ cat Makefile test: echo "test" $ tree ./ ├── Makefile └── test 0 directories, 2 files $ make test make: `test' is up to date.
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As easy trap to fall into: Having a build directory is common. Naming the main target build is a reasonable choice. Oops.
63

EDIT: This only applies to some versions of make - you should check your man page.

You can also pass the -B flag to make. As per the man page, this does:

-B, --always-make Unconditionally make all targets.

So make -B test would solve your problem if you were in a situation where you don't want to edit the Makefile or change the name of your test folder.

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6 Comments

-B is backward-compatible mode for me... (FreeBSD, OS / GNU toolkit does not seem to be specified in question)
Oh interesting... Does --always-make work for you?
Nope. The .PHONY target seems kind of portable though... (At least to FreeBSD, not sure about things like Solaris)
This defies the purpose of make - determining automatically which pieces of a program need to be rebuilt after a change. If your makefile needs the --always-make option to work, your makefile is broken.
@GertvandenBerg .PHONY is going to be part of issue 8 of the POSIX standard austingroupbugs.net/view.php?id=523
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5

my mistake was making the target name "filename.c:" instead of just "filename:"

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have been there.

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