Isn't what you are saying is that if Make was better then it could be better than Ant? Ant and Maven both have plenty of issues, but being dissimilar from make

Isn't what you are saying is that if Make was better then it could be better than Ant? Ant and Maven both have plenty of issues, but being dissimilar from make is not one of them. At the end of the day 'file based' tools like Make are not really suitable for Java which is more concerned with source directories - rightly so in my opinion. There is no program that cannot be written because of a consistent source layout. There are ways to enumerate files, but nothing good (in my experience) and by the time you are using them the make files are no longer easy to read (never mind debug). Make also has this Faustian pact thing going on. Access to the shell and all of its power and familiarity, but at the (significant) expense of portability.