title: Creating files by means of pattern rules
body: <p>Given this makefile:</p>
  
  <pre><code>foo_*.txt: foo_%.txt:
          echo "Foo number $*" &gt; $@
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I was hoping to be able to run, say, "make foo_22.txt" to create a file called "foo_22.txt".  Evidently, that is not the case: the result is the error "No rule to make target `foo_22.txt'."  If the file foo_22.txt does exist, I can get close to the desired behavior by running "make -B foo_22.txt".  How can I get to the desired behavior - namely, being able to run "make foo_22.txt" when the file "foo_22.txt" does not exist, resulting in creation of the file with the expected contents?</p>