RE: why does command echo \\\foobar print \\foobar

[Duane Campbell]

If you want to make sure CMD's built-in "echo" is colled, not some "echo.exe", 
then put a dot on the command.

    echo foo
will find a .exe named echo if it can

    echo. foo
will never find a .exe, so fallsback to the cmd.exe built-in

The same "append a dot" trick works for all CMD.EXE built-in functions: mkdir, 
rmdir, dir, type, etc


.duanec.


-----Original Message-----
From: address@hidden [mailto:address@hidden On Behalf Of Paul Smith
Sent: Sunday, February 07, 2010 7:57 AM
To: Mark Galeck (CW)
Cc: address@hidden; address@hidden
Subject: RE: why does command echo \\\foobar print \\foobar

On Sat, 2010-02-06 at 20:56 -0800, Mark Galeck (CW) wrote:
> But Paul, one more thing, where does it say in the manual, that it
> should be \foobar (one slash).

It doesn't say anywhere in the manual, because this has nothing to do
with GNU make.  Make does not actually RUN the commands that you write,
it passes the commands to the shell and lets the shell run them.  So,
with only the exceptions that ARE described in the manual for special
characters that make cares about, make doesn't do anything to the
commands including reducing backslashes.

Certainly I'm not going to reproduce the documentation for the shell
inside the GNU make manual: that documentation already exists elsewhere.

-- 
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 Paul D. Smith <address@hidden>          Find some GNU make tips at:
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 "Please remain calm...I may be mad, but I am a professional." --Mad Scientist



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