Re:Python past, present, and future with Guido van Rossum [a...
by lmm on Thursday February 23, 2017 @11:48AM
(#13715309)
> Build scripts by their very nature need to be turing complete.
They really don't. The build process should be simple and the same for every project; any actual logic can go in first-class code, that's what it's for (whereas finding out that a file somehow wasn't built, or got substituted before being built, makes for an extremely unpleasant surprise when investigating an issue). I find Turing-complete build systems end up with an analogue of https://martinfowler.com/bliki/SnowflakeServer.html - the "snowflake build", where every module builds slightly differently.
They really don't. The build process should be simple and the same for every project; any actual logic can go in first-class code, that's what it's for (whereas finding out that a file somehow wasn't built, or got substituted before being built, makes for an extremely unpleasant surprise when investigating an issue). I find Turing-complete build systems end up with an analogue of https://martinfowler.com/bliki/SnowflakeServer.html - the "snowflake build", where every module builds slightly differently.