Importing NanoBlogger post "Make gotcha"

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+[[!meta  title="Make gotcha"]]
+[[!meta  date="2008-08-31 18:47:36"]]
+Alrighty, this one had me stumped for a while:
+
+    $ cat Makefile
+    DIRA=dirA
+    DIRB =dirB
+    DIRC = dirC
+    DIRD=dirD# immediate comment
+    DIRE= dirE# immediate comment
+    DIRF=dirF
+    DIRG=dirG # (dirF has a trailing space too)
+    FILE = a  # more spaces here
+
+    make : $(DIRA)/$(FILE) $(DIRB)/$(FILE) $(DIRC)/$(FILE) $(DIRD)/$(FILE) $(DIRE)/$(FILE) $(DIRF)/$(FILE) $(DIRG)/$(FILE)
+            echo "done"
+    % :
+            echo "looking for $@"
+    $ make
+    looking for dirA/a
+    looking for dirB/a
+    looking for dirC/a
+    looking for dirD/a
+    looking for dirE/a
+    looking for dirF
+    looking for /a
+    looking for dirG
+    done
+
+Apparently bonus whitespace (normally before a comment or after an
+equals sign) in variable definitions is stripped from the front of a
+definition, but not the back.  You have been warned ;).
+
+[[!tag  programming]]