make: it would be nice to get -R behavior using a directive inside a Makefile

[Jonathan Nieder]

Hi Paul et al,

Here's a report[1] from Debian.  I think he'd like a

 .NO-BUILTIN-VARIABLES:

magic rule.  Thoughts or advice?

Thanks, 3.82.x is coming along nicely. :)
Jonathan

[1] Britton Leo Kerin wrote at <http://bugs.debian.org/620211>:

> Please note I'm actually running my own compiled version of 3.82.  I just find
> the debian bug reporting interface a little too easy, and this is an upstream
> wishlist item :)
>
> The subject pretty much says it.  What I do now is:
>
> HAVE_NO_BUILTIN_VARIABLES_OPTION := $(shell echo $(MAKEFLAGS) | grep -e R)
> ifndef HAVE_NO_BUILTIN_VARIABLES_OPTION
>    $(error This makefile requires use of the -R/--no-builtin-variables option)
> endif
>
> which forces users of the makefile to do it.  But there should be a way to 
> just
> do this from with the Makefile.  The implicit rules and default variable 
> values
> represent the cruft of a bygone era and aren't worth all the trouble and
> confusion they cause.  And they were an ironic and bad idea to begin with,
> since by definition and convention firm enought to merit them is just
> going to get put in somebodies IDE anyway: make is useful for the
> strange stuff and the custom work.