[Quickstart] Allow calling the Makefile using `make -f path/to/Makefile <target>`

[leogermond]

Subject: Allow calling the quickstart Makefile with make -f

Feature or Bugfix

• Bugfix

Purpose

• This PR modifies the default Makefile so that it can be called using make -f. Otherwise it would call it with a target that is the path to the Makefile itself, this would result in a weird "path/to/Makefile is not a directory" error.
• This PR does impacts people using the quickstart setup. It relies on the shell having the pwd command.

Relates

• https://github.com/sphinx-doc/sphinx/issues/10706

[jfbu]

I do not understand:

• when moving to source (where conf.py and Makefile are), make -f Makefile html works for me with current Makefile, already
• if I rename Makefile to something else and try to use (in same directory) this new name via make -f then it does not work indeed, but this applies both to current Sphinx and to your branch, with sphinx-build complaining about not knowing the builder, as you mention,
• if I issue make -f from parent directory (cf your #10706) I get the expected error about this directory not containing a conf.py. And this applies whether or not using your branch. This seems to be what you report at #10706 but my understanding of https://www.gnu.org/software/make/manual/make.html#Makefile-Names is that this is to be expected.

Besides as you already mention in #10706, using make -C does work fine, from an arbitrary location, if argument of -C is the relative or absolute path to source directory.

My make is GNU Make 4.2.1

[jfbu]

Hmm it seems this may solve it:

diff --git a/sphinx/templates/quickstart/Makefile.new_t b/sphinx/templates/quickstart/Makefile.new_t
index 1a527578b..5d5985d3b 100644
--- a/sphinx/templates/quickstart/Makefile.new_t
+++ b/sphinx/templates/quickstart/Makefile.new_t
@@ -12,10 +12,10 @@ BUILDDIR      = {{ rbuilddir }}
 help:
 	@$(SPHINXBUILD) -M help "$(SOURCEDIR)" "$(BUILDDIR)" $(SPHINXOPTS) $(O)
 
-.PHONY: help Makefile
+.PHONY: help
 
 # Catch-all target: route all unknown targets to Sphinx using the new
 # "make mode" option.  $(O) is meant as a shortcut for $(SPHINXOPTS).
-%: Makefile
+.DEFAULT:
 	@$(SPHINXBUILD) -M $@ "$(SOURCEDIR)" "$(BUILDDIR)" $(SPHINXOPTS) $(O)

For example renaming this to MyMakefile then make -f MyMakefile html pseudoxml latexpdf works fine at my locale.

I got the hint from this stackoverflow answer but some advice would be needed to make sure we do not break things.

[jfbu]

cf https://www.gnu.org/software/make/manual/make.html#Last-Resort

[tk0miya]

I guess this change will cause trouble for Windows users. So it's better not to use pwd command as possible. Could you check the advice from jfbu, please?

[AA-Turner]

We want to move away from Makefile long-term, so I'm closing this. Thank you for your time, though.

A