[avar]

If you think Python 3 is a better tool than a Makefile you're entirely missing out on what makes "make" a useful tool.

The entire point is that it's not a general-purpose programming language, so that you're forced to separate the DAG aspect of your build process from any complex logic.

Sure, some things you can't do in a Makefile, and you generally shouldn't try. The Makefile should call some Python / Perl / whatever helper script to accomplish that particular task, separated by a process boundary.

By doing it like that you can seamlessly run your build process in parallel if you haven't screwed up in declaring your dependencies. E.g. some script that needs Python to fetch something from a database for the build will run concurrently with the build of the documentation.

It also encourages you to structure things in such a way as to have incremental and resumable compilation, e.g. Ctrl+C-ing the middle of a build in a project with a well-maintained Makefile won't require you to run the whole thing from the beginning, but that's typical of someone's home grown "I can do it better" monolithic "./build" shell or python script.

[IshKebab]

Read the last paragraph of my comment. I am entirely aware of what Make does.