title: Can't run Makefile.am, what should I do?
body: <p>I got a C project to compile and run in Linux. It is a very big project with many subdirectories.  Inside the parent directory there are files <code>Makefile.am</code> and <code>Makefile.in</code>.</p>
  
  <p>I tried running <code>make -f Makefile.am</code>, and got the following error:</p>
  
  <pre><code>make: Nothing to be done for `Makefile.am'.
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>What does it mean?  How do I accomplish my task?</p>