stamp files

[Derek R. Price]

Why do automake stamp targets go through all the trouble of creating a
temporary stamp file before executing config.status and then moving the
stamp file into the correct position?

    thirdfile.h: stamp-h3
            @if test ! -f $@; then \
                    rm -f stamp-h3; \
                    $(MAKE) stamp-h3; \
            else :; fi
    stamp-h3: $(srcdir)/thirdfile.h.in $(top_builddir)/config.status
            @rm -f stamp-h3 stamp-h3T
            @echo timestamp > stamp-h3T 2> /dev/null
            cd $(top_builddir) \
              && CONFIG_FILES= CONFIG_HEADERS=thirdfile.h \
                 $(SHELL) ./config.status
            @mv stamp-h3T stamp-h3

Derek

--
Derek Price                      CVS Solutions Architect ( http://CVSHome.org )
mailto:address@hidden     OpenAvenue ( http://OpenAvenue.com )
--
I will not aim for the head.
I will not aim for the head.
I will not aim for the head...

          - Bart Simpson on chalkboard, _The Simpsons_