[erlang-questions] Use of makefiles

[Brian Cully]

On 29-Feb-2008, at 14:56, Toby Thain wrote:
>> Makefiles are declarative, so in theory they should be really neat  
>> and
>> the Erlang world should love them. There are two flies in the
>> ointment. One is that the syntax is batshit crazy.
>
> i.e. Nobody reads the manual.

	Having a manual doesn't make make's syntax any less batshit crazy.

>
>> The other is that
>> people tend to force large doses of imperativeness into Makefiles,
>> which defeats half the point. One widespread example is recursive
>> makefiles.
>
> i.e. Nobody learns how to use it properly.

	Or: make isn't suitable for large classes of useful work and  
thinking, but given its predominance it is forced into these roles by  
hook and crook.

-bjc