Using make to execute independent tasks in parallel
See pattern rules
Another way, if this is the single reason why you need make, is to use -n and -P options of xargs.
First the easy part. As Roman Cheplyaka points out, pattern rules are very useful:
LOGS = log.1 log.2 ... log.4096all: $(LOGS)log.%: command -n $* > log.$*The tricky part is creating that list, LOGS. Make isn't very good at handling numbers. The best way is probably to call on the shell. (You may have to adjust this script for your shell-- shell scripting isn't my strongest subject.)
NUM_LOGS = 4096LOGS = $(shell for ((i=1 ; i<=$(NUM_LOGS) ; ++i)) ; do echo log.$$i ; done)