What: make
Where: various locations http://www.gnu.org/software/make/make.html Description: This command takes files describing relationships between files and describes actions to take to transform files from one format into another when the file's timestamp indicates that such a transformation is needed. One such implementation of this command is the GNU Make, pointed to by the fsf.org link above. Currently, gnu make is at version 3.80 . Updated: 09/2004 Contact: See web site
Among tools useful for dealing with make are the remake [L1 ] debugger. Also see "Debugging Makefiles" [L2 ] for valuable tips on coercing Make to introspect.
See also gnu, MaMa, Mkdepend, PADE, PVM, tmk, UltraMake, ...
Also of interest as a model is Ruby's Rake [L3 ] project, a domain-specific language intended to be a functional substitute for Make.
Tcl-based (all pure-Tcl?) contestants: tclmake, bras, smake, A Little Make Replacement, the make library, ...
"What's wrong with Make", or, more formally, "Getting Started with SCons" [L4 ]. Also, Andy Oram wrote a nice, "make: The Evolution and Alternatives" [L5 ].
There are a variety of alternatives to make. Hopefully people will add more links here.