How should I embed a python script in a Makefile?

Question

I want to embed a python script in a Makefile

I built a python -c script (below), and it works well in my MacBook Hyper terminal:

% python -c $'from subprocess import getstatusoutput\noutput=getstatusoutput("open --background -a Docker")\nif int(output[0])>0:\n    print("Docker desktop failed to launch: exit-code:{}".format(output[0]))'

For reasons I can't yet figure out, this seems to fail if I build a Makefile with it (note: a tab is four spaces... I used tab indentation in the Makefile).

all:
    $(shell python -c $'from subprocess import getstatusoutput\noutput=getstatusoutput("open --background -a Docker")\nif int(output[0])>0:\n    print("Docker desktop failed to launch: exit-code:{}".format(output[0]))')

Running the make all target...

% make all
/bin/sh: -c: line 0: syntax error near unexpected token `('
/bin/sh: -c: line 0: `python -c from subprocess import getstatusoutput\noutput=getstatusoutput("open --background -a Docker")\nif int(output[0])>0:\n    print("Docker desktop failed to launch: exit-code:{}".format(output[0]))''
make: `all' is up to date.
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I have been struggling with this for a while...

Can someone help explain why make all fails and the best way to fix this python -c command? My shell CLI python -c ... command successfully launches Docker desktop on my MacBook.

I understand there are non-python ways to solve this specific problem... I need a general python Makefile solution.

Answer 1

I found a fairly simple way to embed a multiline python script in a Makefile...

1. Save this as Makefile...

define MULTILINE_PYTHON_SCRIPT
###########################################
# Start multiline python string here...
###########################################
from subprocess import getstatusoutput as gso

print("Here we go:")
for hello_int in [1, 2, 3,]:
    print('    Hello World %i' % hello_int)

retval, _ = gso("ls -la")
assert retval==0, "ls command execution failed"

###########################################
# End of multiline python string...
###########################################
endef

export MULTILINE_PYTHON_SCRIPT
EMBEDDED_PY := python -c "$$MULTILINE_PYTHON_SCRIPT"

.PHONY: nothing
nothing:
    echo "raw makefile command"

.PHONY: test
test:
    $(EMBEDDED_PY)

.PHONY: all
all:
    open --background -a Docker

2. Testing the output:

% make nothing
echo "raw makefile command"
raw makefile command
%
% make test
python -c "$MULTILINE_PYTHON_SCRIPT"
Here we go:
    Hello World 1
    Hello World 2
    Hello World 3
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