Python in Makefile Question

[Efrat Regev]

    Hello,

    I'd like to ask a question concerning a python script in a makefile.
Suppose I have a C++ project (sorry for raising this in a Python newsgroup),
with some makefile for it. Before compiling the code, I'd like to check that
there are no C++ convention violations (e.g., identifiers beginning with an
underscore). So my makefile looks something like this:

target: ...
    verify.py
    $(CC) ...

verify.py is a python script that checks for convention violations, i.e.,
its first line is

#! /usr/bin/env python

I can't figure out the following:
1. How can I get the python script to return a value to make, so that if it
decides that there are convention violations make will fail?
2. How can I pass information from the makefile to the python script, e.g.,
the base directory to check?

    Thanks,

    Efrat