Problem

rostest's add_ros_test calls on windows would run through the cmake ok, but when hitting nmake, it would stop short with the error message:

makefile(1035) : fatal error U1086: inference rule cannot have dependents
Stop.

In the Makefile, you would find a target like:

.run_tests_rostest_rostest_test_hztest0.test: cmake_check_build_system
    $(MAKE) -f CMakeFiles\Makefile2 /nologo -$(MAKEFLAGS) .run_tests_rostest_rostest_test_hztest0.test

Nmake would read this like an inference rule (aka .c.obj:) and abort when it saw the dependency (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/d8k6a82k.aspx).

Solution

Is there a special reason the hidden targets are using a dot? I've used underscore here.