Error in make command makefile:18: *** missing separator. Stop

Question

For the following make file copied below, I am getting the missing separator error. Nothing seems to be wrong with the tabspace.

OBJS = driver.o snapshot.o
SHOBJS = malloc.o mymemory.o
CC = g++
DEBUG = -g
CFLAGS = -Wall -c $(DEBUG)
LFLAGS = -Wall $(DEBUG)
Snapshot: $(OBJS)
  $(CC) $(LFLAGS) $(OBJS) -o Snapshot
driver.o: snapshot.h driver.cpp
  $(CC) $(CFLAGS) driver.cpp
snapshot.o: mymemory.h snapshot.h snapshot.cpp
  $(CC) $(CFLAGS) snapshot.cpp
libmymemory.so: $(SHOBJS)
  gcc -shared -o libmymemory.so malloc.o mymemory.o
malloc.o: malloc.c
  gcc -fPIC -g -c -Wall malloc.c
mymemory.o: mymemory.cpp
 gcc -fPIC -g -c -Wall mymemory.cpp 
clean:
 \rm *.o *~ Snapshot

Answer 1

Line 18 is gcc -fPIC -g -c -Wall mymemory.cpp. Make is expecting a separator, typically :. It's not detecting this line as a command. You mistyped the intendation: you have spaces where you should have a tab.

Good editors highlight makefile lines that begin with spaces but look like they should begin with a tab instead.

Answer 2

I have seen this error message when a file used spaces instead of tab character(s) at the beginning of a line in the makefile.

Answer 3

This mostly happens if you copy paste the code from internet. Remove all the spaces from the indented lines by using the delete key. And then press the tab key, only once per line.

Save it and try running the file again. It should work now. This worked for me.

Answer 4

I don't know if it's accurate or an artifact of pasting the code online, but the indentation for the last two commands in the file looks like it's smaller than the commands above it. Double-check your spacing carefully.