[eru]

> I don't typically use .PHONY as my targets aren't the same name as files and performance isn't an issue.

They are still phony at heart in this case, even if you don't declare them .PHONY.

Make really wants to produce files; if your targets don't produce the files they are named for you are going to run into trouble (or have to be rather careful to avoid the sharp edges).

> They say "use the best tool for the job". As far as I've found, for a job like that, Make fits the best. If some day somebody completely re-writes all the functionality of Make in a less-obnoxious way, I'll use that.

You could try eg Shake (https://shakebuild.com/), but it requires some Haskell.