Makefile error "missing separator" preventing compilation

[nathanjaker]

Hello all,

I'm trying to compile the built-in C-code examples for the NI-SCOPE system, specifically the "Simulated Acquisition" one (in directory C:\Users\Public\Documents\National Instruments\NI-SCOPE\examples\c\SimulatedAcquisition). I've been trying to compile this example using the provided makefile, but to no avail.

I installed GnuWin32, and when trying to compile the example I get the following error:

makefile:9: *** missing separator.  Stop.

For reference, here's the first chunk of the makefile, and I attached the makefile itself to this post (given a .txt extension to allow me to upload the file per this forum's rules):

#   National Instruments C Makefile
#
#   Copyright (c) 2009
#   National Instruments Corporation.
#   All rights reserved.

!IF "$(CFG)" != "Win32 Release" && "$(CFG)" != "Win32 Debug" && "$(CFG)" != "Win64 Release" && "$(CFG)" != "Win64 Debug"

!MESSAGE Invalid configuration "$(CFG)" specified.
!MESSAGE You can specify a configuration when running NMAKE
!MESSAGE by defining the macro CFG on the command line. For example:
!MESSAGE
!MESSAGE NMAKE [/f "Makefile"] CFG="Win32 Debug"
!MESSAGE
!MESSAGE Possible choices for configuration are:
!MESSAGE
!MESSAGE "Win32 Release" (based on "Win32 (x86) Console Application")

I have tried editing the makefile in all sorts of different ways, but I've never been able to successfully compile the example. Any idea about what could be wrong?

[balexand]

Hi, sorry that this post has been sitting here with no reply for so long.

The solution is to use the Microsoft Visual Studio command line tool, NMAKE.  Download Microsoft Visual Studio  (Community Edition is free).  There will be an item on your start menu called "Developer Command Prompt for ..."  Open that, change directory to "C:\Users\Public\Documents\National Instruments\NI-SCOPE\Examples\c\SimulatedAcquisition", and then type

nmake CFG="Win32 Release" (or whatever build configuration you want to use).