[Chicago] SCons, the Python-based alternative to GNU Make

[Michael Tobis]

"make" is an interesting language. It and Mathematica are AFAIK the
only commonly used rule-based languages that "do stuff". I can't count
Prolog as anything but a toy, and I don't think yacc is all that
commonly encountered.

Rule-based programming is an interesting approach, even though its use
in make has always struck me as, um, COMPLETELY INSANE. I always
script my builds.

If you think about why rule-based languages are interesting, you could
see where the idea for make came from, but it just isn't worth it. For
something so totally time-testedly wrongheaded and gratuitously
painful, there sure are a lot of nasty makefiles out there.

mt