Tomi Ollila <tomi.ollila@iki.fi> writes: > +VERSION:=$(shell gv=`exec git describe --match '[0-9.]*'|sed -e s/_/~/ -e s/-/+/ -e s/-/~/`; test -f VERSION || touch VERSION; read fv < VERSION; test x"$$fv" = x"$$gv" || echo "$$gv" > VERSION; echo "$$gv") does this need to be one line long? It's a bit scary. > +# this file may already have been updated. > +VERSION: version > + echo $(VERSION) > version I'd prefer the build process does not change any version controlled file. It should be source, or generated, but not both. did you mean to write to VERSION here? d