[Mingw-notify] [ mingw-Bugs-821605 ] Make sets shell inconsistantly if makefile sets it to script

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Bugs item #821605, was opened at 2003-10-11 04:05
Message generated for change (Comment added) made by donstauffer
You can respond by visiting: 
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Category: non-mingw
Group: component package
Status: Closed
Resolution: Wont Fix
Priority: 5
Submitted By: Don Stauffer (donstauffer)
Assigned to: Nobody/Anonymous (nobody)
Summary: Make sets shell inconsistantly if makefile sets it to script

Initial Comment:
This only seems to happen at a Windows 2000 command 
prompt, not in MSYS.

Trying to do the same manipulation to the characters 
making up any command shelled from make by setting 
SHELL := testSh in makefile, where testSh is a shell 
script.  This works fine as long as testSh exists before 
make is run.  Creating the script within the makefile 
usually works, but not always.  You can run make 
repeatedly and get different results for some runs, 
especially if there is very little time between them.  
Slightly fewer than half the runs will use /bin/sh instead 
of testSh.

The following short makefile reproduces the problem:

define P
#
endef

dummy := ${shell sh echo -e '$P!/bin/sh\necho Hi!\nsh -
c "$$2"'>testSh}

SHELL := testSh

.PHONY : example

example :

	@echo
	@echo SHELL=${SHELL}
	@rm -f testSh

On my faster machine, I can get this to alternate 
randomly between using testSh and using /bin/sh simply 
by running make repeatedly using the up-arrow 
command history function and hitting enter.  On my 
slower machine I have to use a Windows 2000 command 
prompt for loop:

for %a in (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9) do make

The output looks like this:

D:\Data\DEVELO~1\src\make\t\t>make

SHELL=testSh

D:\Data\DEVELO~1\src\make\t\t>make

SHELL=testSh

D:\Data\DEVELO~1\src\make\t\t>make

SHELL=D:/Programs/OS/MinGW/MSYS/1.0/bin/sh.exe

D:\Data\DEVELO~1\src\make\t\t>make

SHELL=D:/Programs/OS/MinGW/MSYS/1.0/bin/sh.exe

D:\Data\DEVELO~1\src\make\t\t>make

SHELL=testSh

D:\Data\DEVELO~1\src\make\t\t>make

SHELL=D:/Programs/OS/MinGW/MSYS/1.0/bin/sh.exe

D:\Data\DEVELO~1\src\make\t\t>make

SHELL=testSh

D:\Data\DEVELO~1\src\make\t\t>make

SHELL=D:/Programs/OS/MinGW/MSYS/1.0/bin/sh.exe

D:\Data\DEVELO~1\src\make\t\t>make

SHELL=testSh

Incidentally, if I run this for loop repeatedly the output 
will vary.  That is, it's not always iterations 3,4,6 and 8 
which use /bin/sh instead of testSh.

I would appreciate any insight into why this happens and 
workaround ideas.

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>Comment By: Don Stauffer (donstauffer)
Date: 2003-10-12 01:41

Message:
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user_id=861460

The source told me what to do.  The workaround is to make 
sure the script is in a directory other than the current 
directory, and not in the PATH.  Seems like early on make is 
searching in the current directory and on the path for shell 
and makefiles, and sometimes it remembers the shell script 
wasn't there.  Not sure why that would vary from run to run, 
but I guessed putting it in a directory the hash table hadn't 
seen yet would keep it from assuming the script file didn't 
exists, and it worked.

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Comment By: Earnie Boyd (earnie)
Date: 2003-10-11 15:38

Message:
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Again, seek help at mak...@gn....  You'll get better
results for a workaround.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Comment By: Don Stauffer (donstauffer)
Date: 2003-10-11 15:24

Message:
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user_id=861460

I'm actually more interested in a workaround than a fix -- 
hopefully one which doesn't require the user of the makefile 
to do anything differently to run it.

The result is the same with SHELL set in advance, and with 
mingw32-make.

I searched all archives thoroughly before posting and found 
very little on the subject of setting SHELL in makefiles.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Comment By: Earnie Boyd (earnie)
Date: 2003-10-11 11:03

Message:
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You may want to try researching the mak...@gn... list.

If you set SHELL to testSH before executing what happens?

If you use mingw32-make what happens?

This isn't a bug I'm particularly interested in fixing, so
you'll have to work with the source to figure it out and
offer a fix go the gnu maintainers.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

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