Built-in commands are operations handled internally by NMAKE32, rather than passed out to the operating system. All built-in commands begin with a percent sign (%).

• cd directory
  Instructs NMAKE32 to change the current directory to directory.
  %do other_target
  Instructs NMAKE32 to invoke the commands of target other_target as though they were inline. All built-in macros (such as $@ and $?) associated with the current target and dependents remain unchanged; only the commands are used.

  This built-in command can be used to set up generic rules which can be invoked repetitively from different points in your description file. Note that it does not matter where other_target was defined, as long as it is visible to NMAKE32 during the processing of your description file.

  Example:

    # Use the %do command in the target/dependency  # command using the target comp_rule:  This target
    # is not listed as a dependent of any other target,
    # and is only accessible via the %do command.
  
    comp_rule:
       $(CC) -c -fo$@ $<
  
    all: test1.obj test2.obj        # define targets to build
  
    test1.obj: test1.c              # first target/dep pair
      %do comp_rule                 #   %do command
  
    test2.obj: test2.c              # second target/dep pair
      $(CC) /c -fo$@ $<             # use explicit command
  

• echo string
  Instructs NMAKE32 to display the contents of string (after expanding any macros)
  %set var=value
  Instructs NMAKE32 to assign value to the variable var. There are instances where it would be a valuable feature to be able to change the value of a variable after NMAKE32 has read all the description files and has begun execution. The %set command allows to you to change or create any NMAKE32 variable while commands are being invoked.
  %setenv var=value
  Instructs NMAKE32 to assign value to the environment variable var. If the variable is not already defined, it is created with the specified value; if the variable is already defined, its value is replaced by the specified value.

  ---

  [Back] [Next]