GNU bug report logs - #60607
Making dvi target do nothing

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Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Reuben Thomas <rrt <at> sc3d.org>
To: bug-automake <bug-automake <at> gnu.org>
Subject: Making dvi target do nothing
Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2023 21:53:55 +0100

[Message part 1 (text/plain, inline)]

I'm using automake 1.16.5. The advice about how to disable the "dvi" target
doesn't seem to work.

In the manual it says:

   To make ‘dvi’ into a do-nothing target, see the example for
‘EMPTY_AUTOMAKE_TARGETS’ in *note Third-Party Makefiles::.

If I have:

EMPTY_AUTOMAKE_TARGETS = dvi
.PHONY: $(EMPTY_AUTOMAKE_TARGETS)
$(EMPTY_AUTOMAKE_TARGETS):

in my Makefile.am, then "TEXI2DVI" is still run by "make distcheck".

If I instead have:

dvi:

then it is not.

-- 
https://rrt.sc3d.org

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Message #8 received at 60607 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Nick Bowler <nbowler <at> draconx.ca>
To: Reuben Thomas <rrt <at> sc3d.org>
Cc: 60607 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#60607: Making dvi target do nothing
Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2023 02:46:09 -0500

On 2023-01-06, Reuben Thomas via Bug reports for Automake
<bug-automake <at> gnu.org> wrote:
> I'm using automake 1.16.5. The advice about how to disable the "dvi"
> target doesn't seem to work.
>
> In the manual it says:
>
>    To make ‘dvi’ into a do-nothing target, see the example for
> ‘EMPTY_AUTOMAKE_TARGETS’ in *note Third-Party Makefiles::.
>
> If I have:
>
> EMPTY_AUTOMAKE_TARGETS = dvi
> .PHONY: $(EMPTY_AUTOMAKE_TARGETS)
> $(EMPTY_AUTOMAKE_TARGETS):
>
> in my Makefile.am, then "TEXI2DVI" is still run by "make distcheck".

This example in the manual is talking about writing a custom
Makefile, *without* using Automake, that you want to recurse
into using Automake's SUBDIRS feature.

> If I instead have:
>
> dvi:
>
> then it is not.

This is right way to override the dvi target that would
otherwise be generated by Automake.

Cheers,
  Nick

Message #11 received at 60607 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Reuben Thomas <rrt <at> sc3d.org>
To: Nick Bowler <nbowler <at> draconx.ca>
Cc: 60607 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#60607: Making dvi target do nothing
Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2023 12:50:03 +0100

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On Sat, 7 Jan 2023 at 08:46, Nick Bowler <nbowler <at> draconx.ca> wrote:

>
> This example in the manual is talking about writing a custom
> Makefile, *without* using Automake, that you want to recurse
> into using Automake's SUBDIRS feature.
>

Aha! Thanks for pointing this out. I think the manual is misleading in
another place, because I got to this section via this cross-reference:

   To make ‘dvi’ into a do-nothing target, see the example for
‘EMPTY_AUTOMAKE_TARGETS’ in *note Third-Party Makefiles::.

This is in the section "dvi and distcheck", which AFAICT is about
Makefile.am, not third-party Makefiles.

> If I instead have:
> >
> > dvi:
> >
> > then it is not.
>
> This is right way to override the dvi target that would
> otherwise be generated by Automake.
>

So it seems that this is what the section "dvi and distcheck" should advise.

-- 
https://rrt.sc3d.org

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Message #14 received at 60607 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Karl Berry <karl <at> freefriends.org>
To: rrt <at> sc3d.org
Cc: nbowler <at> draconx.ca, 60607 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#60607: Making dvi target do nothing
Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2023 16:23:33 -0700

How does this change to the doc look? --thanks, karl.


--- a/doc/automake.texi
+++ b/doc/automake.texi
@@ -8885,8 +8885,16 @@ example,
 AM_DISTCHECK_DVI_TARGET = pdf
 @end example
 
-To make @code{dvi} into a do-nothing target, see the example for
-@code{EMPTY_AUTOMAKE_TARGETS} in @ref{Third-Party Makefiles}.
+To make @code{dvi} into a do-nothing target, add it to your
+@file{Makefile.am} with no commands:
+
+@example
+dvi:
+@end example
+
+@noindent
+As usual with Automake, your user-defined target will override
+Automake's target (@pxref{Extending}).
 
 @trindex distcheck-hook
 @subheading distcheck-hook

Message #17 received at 60607 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Reuben Thomas <rrt <at> sc3d.org>
To: Karl Berry <karl <at> freefriends.org>
Cc: nbowler <at> draconx.ca, 60607 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#60607: Making dvi target do nothing
Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2023 13:17:57 +0100

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On Sun, 8 Jan 2023 at 00:23, Karl Berry <karl <at> freefriends.org> wrote:

> How does this change to the doc look? --thanks, karl.
>

Thanks for this Karl; it certainly fixes the problem I had! (I'll leave the
assessment of technical accuracy to others.)

-- 
https://rrt.sc3d.org

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Message #20 received at 60607 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Karl Berry <karl <at> freefriends.org>
To: 60607 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, 60607-done <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#60607: Making dvi target do nothing
Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2023 18:57:52 -0700

Thanks. Pushed. -k

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