Re: [PATCH] Makefile: drop duplicate %.a from link recipes
- From
Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
- Date
- Jun 4, 2026, 00:33 UTC
- Message-ID
- <xmqqik7zqh4p.fsf@gitster.g>
- In-Reply-To
- <pull.2314.git.git.1780269406949.gitgitgadget@gmail.com>
"Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget" <gitgitgadget@gmail.com> writes:
> t/helper/test-%$X: t/helper/test-%.o GIT-LDFLAGS $(GITLIBS) > - $(QUIET_LINK)$(CC) $(ALL_CFLAGS) -o $@ $(ALL_LDFLAGS) $(filter %.o,$^) $(filter %.a,$^) $(LIBS) > + $(QUIET_LINK)$(CC) $(ALL_CFLAGS) -o $@ $(ALL_LDFLAGS) $(filter %.o,$^) $(LIBS)
I think the reason why the pattern to use only the .o files among the prerequisites and then use only the .a files among the same prerequisites (both filters $^) is used here is to make sure that the linker sees object files first before library archives, so that by the time its left-to-right scan sees the first library archive, all the missing symbols in the object files are known. The above change depends on LIBS being a strict superset of all the library archive files ($GITLIBS in the current code, but that can be updated in the future) listed as prerequisites for the rule, but there is nothing to guarantee that, so it looks brittle.
Exact same comment applies to the other two rules touched by this patch.