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Comment by baq | Hacker News Reader

the problem isn't writing code, the problem is build environment and deployment - correct versions of compilers, headers, libraries, makefiles, cmakelists, wafs, scons', bjams, whatevers...

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Is it really an issue? Are you proud of the fact that you can't sudo apt-get a few packages?

I'm not a fan of moving away from Makefiles, however. Makefiles are sooo simple, why complicate it?

sudo apt-get a few packages is great when it works, but if you want/need a newer boost version, you're on your own. Makefiles are tedious to write and maintain in anything but a toy application. That's not to say everything else isn't, but most of the time you can save yourself some hassle.

I used to feel that way about Make until I tried Rake. I'll never go back now, I think build scripts feel the need for a general purpose language often enough that it really pays to have them as an embedded DSL in a scripting language.

Makefiles are only simple if you are only supporting a single operating system, and a few build configurations.

I've worked on a makefile that built shaders, libs, and assorted executables for multiple projects across 6 platforms, and I can confirm this.

Is it really an issue?

No. Its not. I've been programming primarily in C++ for a few years (been using it as a hobbyist programmer since about 2002 and on and off professionally over the last 4 years) and this has never been an issue for me.

If you're developing company-internal stuff, you can just standardize on one compiler and/or statically link everything.

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