[antonyme]

CMake actually does platform probing (test compiling with code fragments to identify platform features and quirks) in a similar manner to autotools. But it is much easier to work with, and significantly better documented. I find the syntax shouty and verbose but it does the job, and has proven its mettle in many large, complex cross-platform projects.

As for CPython extensions, I can relate also. Though the cffi makes some of it redundant, and Boost::Python is brilliant for wrapping C++ projects.