Automake is most definitely a build tool, and I believe that should be orthogonal to the package manager (even though we're seeing convergence in this area with

Automake is most definitely a build tool, and I believe that should be orthogonal to the package manager (even though we're seeing convergence in this area with things like go, virtualenv, npm and so on). The thing with automake is: 1. Distros know how to package it. With cdbs, a debian/rules file for a properly autotooled package is only a couple of lines. 2. Because everything boils down to shell and makefile fragments, you can extend it to fit your corner cases fairly easily.