make, configure, autoconf/automake, m4 (I know it's just a macro language), cmake, scons, etc, etc, etc.
Can anyone share a good survey article/paper on the fundamental issues related to build systems, or what is the criteria for a good system (other than popularity)?
Is this a tricky issue because it's tangled with configuration-management and package-management, and OS-filesystem-hierarchy in general? (in which case you can not solve this problem without standardization efforts at multiple levels).
I'm not looking whether to chose CMake or its competitors, but looking for insight into the minds of build-system creators (something deeper than just annoyance with existing tools).
(addition of history discussion would be even better)
Can anyone share a good survey article/paper on the fundamental issues related to build systems, or what is the criteria for a good system (other than popularity)?
Is this a tricky issue because it's tangled with configuration-management and package-management, and OS-filesystem-hierarchy in general? (in which case you can not solve this problem without standardization efforts at multiple levels).
I'm not looking whether to chose CMake or its competitors, but looking for insight into the minds of build-system creators (something deeper than just annoyance with existing tools).
(addition of history discussion would be even better)