Re: [Caml-list] One build system to rule them all?

[rixed@happyleptic.org]

Ok, here are my requirements:

- be able to compile any language (personal favorites: OCaml, C)
- be able to run a preprocessor (personal favorites: a tool to filter OCaml v4
  only library functions or variants)
- be able to build the preprocessor
- be able to generate the code (personal favorite: literate programming)
- be able to build the tools that generates the code (personal favorite: ibid)
- be able to generate the data from other input files (personal favorite: true-type
  fonts generated from description)
- be able to build the tools that does that (of course)
- be able to generate the doc
- be able to run some tool on some source files and check some property (personal
  favorite: a tool to check circular dependencies)
- be able to build the tools that perform those checks
- be able to use custom ld script to link to exotic environments (personal favorite:
  phones)
- be reasonably portable to unix like environments
- don't trap users into using only one language or one tool.

Well this is a never ending list, unless you realize that it all sums up to:

- be able to run any command to change one set of input files to some output file
- be declarative as much as possible

I don't believe there can be anything between generic make-like tools and
community centered tools that simplify but one use case.
<insert fish vs fishing allegory here>.