Make is actually pretty amazing for its simplicity, longevity, how it gets so much of the job done without doing very much. Yes there are pitfalls and caveats,

Make is actually pretty amazing for its simplicity, longevity, how it gets so much of the job done without doing very much. Yes there are pitfalls and caveats, good uses and bad, but the balance reached between simplicity and ability to be productive and get you most of the way is amazing. I feel that when I hear somebody say they don't like make, usually they misunderstand this, or they think somebody's bad experiences with makefiles is somehow representative of the capability of the tool. One person created make in a weekend in 1976. We are still talking about it. Most humans and most software will never achieve this.