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From: mac@mrk.ardent.com (Michael McNamara)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: Bugs in the AT&T Toolchest program 'nmake'
Keywords: nmake
Message-ID: <6561@ardent.UUCP>
Date: 19 May 89 17:00:35 GMT
References: <1640@internal.Apple.COM>
Sender: news@ardent.UUCP
Reply-To: mac@mrk.ardent.com (Michael McNamara)
Organization: Ardent Computer Corporation, Sunnyvale, CA
Lines: 32

ew> I have the AT&T Toolchest 'nmake' program, version 1.0 and was
ew> wondering if there's a poor soul out there who's found some bugs
ew> in this product and would be willing to tell me about them so I
ew> don't go crazy trying to build these new makefiles...

	I would strongly suggest that you get your money back from
AT&T for nmake, and get gnu-make from the Free Software Foundation.

	nmake is 1) quite buggy, and 2) does not use standard
makefiles.

	gnu-make is 1) free, 2) can use standard makefiles 3) has the
multiple jobs, load average sensitivity and other featues of nmake.

	gnu-make also has non standard makefile extentions, but you
do not need to use them to get the power of parallel make, which is
what I consider to be the main virtue of nmake & gnu-make.
	nmake pretty much requires you to re write all your makefiles
(they do end up simpler) but since it requires lots of bug fixes, you
end up not being able to rebuild your product because you've found
another bug in nmake, and you get use /bin/make cause all your
makefiles are in a different syntax.  (nmake does come with buggy
makefile conversion programs... deeper and deeper...)

	-mac 
(These are my opinions, formed when working for a company now out of
business, so if you have a problem with these opinions, you get get in
line with the creditors of that chapter 11 company...)

_________________
Michael McNamara 
  mac@ardent.com