4 files changed, 36 insertions, 21 deletions
diff --git a/src/backend/Makefile b/src/backend/Makefile
index e9c076d9760..1d7a541026c 100644
--- a/src/backend/Makefile
+++ b/src/backend/Makefile
@@ -65,13 +65,10 @@ ifeq ($(PORTNAME), cygwin)
 postgres: $(OBJS)
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(LDFLAGS) $(LDFLAGS_EX) $(export_dynamic) -Wl,--stack,$(WIN32_STACK_RLIMIT) -Wl,--export-all-symbols -Wl,--out-implib=libpostgres.a $(call expand_subsys,$^) $(LIBS) -o $@
 
-# There is no correct way to write a rule that generates two files.
-# Rules with two targets don't have that meaning, they are merely
-# shorthand for two otherwise separate rules.  To be safe for parallel
-# make, we must chain the dependencies like this.  The semicolon is
-# important, otherwise make will choose some built-in rule.
-
-libpostgres.a: postgres ;
+# libpostgres.a is actually built in the preceding rule, but we need this to
+# ensure it's newer than postgres; see notes in src/backend/parser/Makefile
+libpostgres.a: postgres
+	touch $@
 
 endif # cygwin
 
@@ -81,7 +78,10 @@ LIBS += -lsecur32
 postgres: $(OBJS) $(WIN32RES)
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(LDFLAGS) $(LDFLAGS_EX) -Wl,--stack=$(WIN32_STACK_RLIMIT) -Wl,--export-all-symbols -Wl,--out-implib=libpostgres.a $(call expand_subsys,$(OBJS)) $(WIN32RES) $(LIBS) -o $@$(X)
 
-libpostgres.a: postgres ;
+# libpostgres.a is actually built in the preceding rule, but we need this to
+# ensure it's newer than postgres; see notes in src/backend/parser/Makefile
+libpostgres.a: postgres
+	touch $@
 
 endif # win32
 
@@ -131,6 +131,12 @@ postgres.o: $(OBJS)
 # The following targets are specified in make commands that appear in
 # the make files in our subdirectories. Note that it's important we
 # match the dependencies shown in the subdirectory makefiles!
+# Also, in cases where a subdirectory makefile generates two files in
+# what's really one step, such as bison producing both gram.h and gram.c,
+# we must request making the one that is shown as the secondary (dependent)
+# output, else the timestamp on it might be wrong.  By project convention,
+# the .h file is the dependent one for bison output, so we need only request
+# that; but in other cases, request both for safety.
 
 parser/gram.h: parser/gram.y
 	$(MAKE) -C parser gram.h
diff --git a/src/backend/catalog/Makefile b/src/backend/catalog/Makefile
index a974bd52607..fb1528f26cc 100644
--- a/src/backend/catalog/Makefile
+++ b/src/backend/catalog/Makefile
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ BKIFILES = postgres.bki postgres.description postgres.shdescription
 
 include $(top_srcdir)/src/backend/common.mk
 
-all: $(BKIFILES) schemapg.h
+all: $(BKIFILES) schemapg.h postgres.description postgres.shdescription
 
 # Note: there are some undocumented dependencies on the ordering in which
 # the catalog header files are assembled into postgres.bki.  In particular,
@@ -50,12 +50,15 @@ catalogdir = $(top_srcdir)/src/backend/catalog
 # locations of headers that genbki.pl needs to read
 pg_includes = -I$(top_srcdir)/src/include/catalog -I$(top_builddir)/src/include/catalog
 
-# see explanation in ../parser/Makefile
-postgres.description: postgres.bki ;
+# see notes in src/backend/parser/Makefile about multiple output files
+postgres.description: postgres.bki
+	touch $@
 
-postgres.shdescription: postgres.bki ;
+postgres.shdescription: postgres.bki
+	touch $@
 
-schemapg.h: postgres.bki ;
+schemapg.h: postgres.bki
+	touch $@
 
 # Technically, this should depend on Makefile.global, but then
 # postgres.bki would need to be rebuilt after every configure run,
diff --git a/src/backend/parser/Makefile b/src/backend/parser/Makefile
index 9cc8946fa1b..b06d39cc84f 100644
--- a/src/backend/parser/Makefile
+++ b/src/backend/parser/Makefile
@@ -28,12 +28,17 @@ endif
 
 # There is no correct way to write a rule that generates two files.
 # Rules with two targets don't have that meaning, they are merely
-# shorthand for two otherwise separate rules.  To be safe for parallel
-# make, we must chain the dependencies like this.  The semicolon is
-# important, otherwise make will choose the built-in rule for
-# gram.y=>gram.c.
-
-gram.h: gram.c ;
+# shorthand for two otherwise separate rules.  If we have an action
+# that in fact generates two or more files, we must choose one of them
+# as primary and show it as the action's output, then make all of the
+# other output files dependent on the primary, like this.  Furthermore,
+# the "touch" action is essential, because it ensures that gram.h is
+# marked as newer than (or at least no older than) gram.c.  Without that,
+# make is likely to try to rebuild gram.h in subsequent runs, which causes
+# failures in VPATH builds from tarballs.
+
+gram.h: gram.c
+	touch $@
 
 gram.c: BISONFLAGS += -d
 gram.c: BISON_CHECK_CMD = $(PERL) $(srcdir)/check_keywords.pl $< $(top_srcdir)/src/include/parser/kwlist.h
diff --git a/src/backend/utils/Makefile b/src/backend/utils/Makefile
index 83745337180..7540f10541f 100644
--- a/src/backend/utils/Makefile
+++ b/src/backend/utils/Makefile
@@ -20,8 +20,9 @@ all: errcodes.h fmgroids.h probes.h
 
 $(SUBDIRS:%=%-recursive): fmgroids.h
 
-# see explanation in ../parser/Makefile
-fmgroids.h: fmgrtab.c ;
+# see notes in src/backend/parser/Makefile
+fmgroids.h: fmgrtab.c
+	touch $@
 
 fmgrtab.c: Gen_fmgrtab.pl $(catalogdir)/Catalog.pm $(top_srcdir)/src/include/catalog/pg_proc.h
 	$(PERL) -I $(catalogdir) $< $(top_srcdir)/src/include/catalog/pg_proc.h