I love it when I find a project and it's entire build system is just a make file. It usually builds without much drama and anything I need to fix is straight-forward and direct. autoconf is the worst. If software were an eldrich horror it would be autoconf. cmake is a little better. but it still feels like you are trying to change something by telling a person who does not speak your language how to do do it.
While I am sure these advanced build systems bring something to the table. as someone who is more sysadmin than developer, what that thing is, is sometimes hard to see.
> when I find a project and it's entire build system is just a make file.
reason might be, you only find small projects that don't need a build system. It's not like developers have a choice. As soon as you need dependencies, alternative dependencies, cross platform compatibility etc., there's no way around choosing a build system.
My expierience is totally the opposite. Every time I have to touch a make file, I don't understand shit and hate my life. I have to google basically everything. Syntax, commands, etc.. Obscure Syntax rules I forget when not touching the build files for more than a week.. same goes for basically every build system I ever used, except Cargo
While I am sure these advanced build systems bring something to the table. as someone who is more sysadmin than developer, what that thing is, is sometimes hard to see.