I think people write bad makefiles because the documentation is bad. Its "taking the user by the hand and pushing him into the right direction"-level is just no

I think people write bad makefiles because the documentation is bad. Its "taking the user by the hand and pushing him into the right direction"-level is just not up to date anymore. Make is a good tool because it allows a lot of flexibility, but it doesn't protect its users from the pitfalls this flexibility unavoidably creates.