Re: Using empty $(else) variable for readability

[Tony Theodore]

> On 18 Oct 2015, at 01:12, Rakesh Sharma <address@hidden> wrote:
> 
> Tony Theodore <tony.t <at> me.com> writes:
> 
>> 
>> Is this a reasonable idea and is there any chance $(else) will have some 
>> defined value in the future?
>> 
> 
> This is not at all a good idea, since it's very easy in make to slip in
> a variable $(else) whose value whenever it's non-null will cause your
> carefully constructed clauses to come crashing down.


Ah! I wasn’t thinking about all the ways a variable could be set. We have
reasonable control over inputs at the moment but I’m doing this sweep
in  preparation for a plugin system where people can load whatever
arbitrary makefiles they want...


> On 18 Oct 2015, at 01:10, Paul Smith <address@hidden> wrote:
> 
> "else" as a variable will never have another value.  The POSIX standard
> for make reserves variables that start with "." and are all capitalized
> for the implementation.
> 
> I suppose it's possible that there could be a function $(else ...)
> created, but I can't imagine what that would be and it wouldn't conflict
> with the variable "else" anyway.
> 
> So, you're good.

Thanks, I think I’ll run with it and see what happens.

Cheers,

Tony