Question

I am writing a makefile in bash and I have a target in which I try to find if a file exists and even though I think the syntax is correct, i still gives me an error.

Here is the script that I am trying to run

read:          if [ -e testFile] ; then \          cat testFile\          fi 

I am using tabs so that is not a problem.

The error is (when I type in: ‘make read’)

if [ -e testFile] ; then \         cat testFile \         fi /bin/sh: Syntax error: end of file unexpected (expecting 'fi') make: *** [read] Error 2 

Answer 1

Try adding a semicolon after cat testFile. For example:

read:      if [ -e testFile ] ; then  cat testFile ; fi 

alternatively:

read:     test -r testFile && cat testFile