Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!caip!brl-adm!brl-smoke!gwyn
From: gwyn@brl-smoke.ARPA (Doug Gwyn )
Newsgroups: net.unix
Subject: Re: Using sh in makefiles
Message-ID: <1796@brl-smoke.ARPA>
Date: Sun, 29-Jun-86 01:22:03 EDT
Article-I.D.: brl-smok.1796
Posted: Sun Jun 29 01:22:03 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 30-Jun-86 05:35:17 EDT
References: <1991@dalcs.UUCP>
Reply-To: gwyn@brl.arpa (Doug Gwyn (VLD/VMB) <gwyn>)
Distribution: net
Organization: Ballistic Research Lab (BRL), APG, MD.
Lines: 34

In article <1991@dalcs.UUCP> silvert@dalcs.UUCP (Bill Silvert) writes:
-Would like advice on how to use shell commands (such as if...) in
-makefiles.  I know that it all has to be on one line, but the only way I
-can make a command work is through a kludge like:
-
-test:
-	echo "if x;then y;fi" | sh
-
-which seems pretty roundabout.  Is this the only way to do it?

I really don't understand why you've had any problems:

test:
	if x; then y; fi

OR

test:
	if x ; \
	then	y ; \
	fi

Perhaps you're using one of those antique versions of UNIX that has a
"make" and shell that conspire to report that the "if" command has
failed; if so, just use a dash prefix on the command:

test:
	-if x; \
	then	y; \
	fi

I would like to once again plea that people posting problems
tell us what version of UNIX they're running, since there are
several and they don't all behave the same way.