In the manual section "Automatic Remaking", the following rule is suggested:
config.h: stamp-h stamp-h: config.h.in config.status ./config.status This actually doesn't work so well. It should be config.h: stamp-h ; stamp-h: config.h.in config.status ./config.status If you look at the makefiles generated by Automake, it agrees. I have attached a small test case. Here is what happens if you write the rules the first way: $ touch config.status $ make ./config.status $ make cc -c -o test.o test.c Here is what happens if you write the rules the second way: $ touch config.status $ make ./config.status cc -c -o test.o test.c This is with GNU Make 3.81. The rule for config.h.in: stamp-h.in is probably similarly affected, but I don't have verification for that.
make-testcase.tar.gz
Description: application/compressed-tar