This 'make' thing is a powerful tool, actually.

Whats wrong with Makefiles?; they're quick and easy ways to describe how to build simple and _not super_ complicated systems.

I've found this to be a great resource, hope you find it useful:

* http://gromnitsky.users.sourceforge.net/articles/notes-for-n...

It’s ironic. I love python but the syntax for make files was a pain. They’re rather cryptic. I guess they’re a staple time to conquer them once and for all.

It's trivial to call bash syntax from within a Makefile. The Makefile just breaks these things up into rules which define steps and dependencies for these rules to occur.