Post: SC Build

content/post/2016-08-sc-build.md

@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+---
+title: 'Software Carpentry: SC Build; or making a better make'
+description: |
+  Entrants to the SC Build category were invited
+  to create a replacement for the venerable make tool.
+  How did they do?
+slug: sc-build
+date: 2016-08-19T19:30:13+01:00
+draft: false
+type: post
+topics:
+- Technology
+tags:
+- Software Carpentry
+- Web archaeology
+- SCons
+- Python
+- Make
+series: swc-archaeology
+---
+
+> Software tools often grow incrementally from small beginnings into elaborate artefacts. Each increment makes sense, but the final edifice is a mess. make is an excellent example: a simple tool that has grown into a complex domain-specific programming language. I look forward to seeing the improvements we will get from designing the tool afresh, as a whole...  
+> --- *Simon Peyton-Jones, Microsoft Research (quote taken from [SC Build page][SC Build])*
+
+Most people who have had to compile an existing software tool
+will have come across the venerable [`make`][make] tool
+(which usually these days means [GNU Make][]).
+It allows the developer to write a declarative set of rules
+specifying how the final software should be built
+from its component parts,
+mostly source code,
+allowing the build itself to be carried out
+by simply typing `make` at the command line and hitting `Enter`.
+
+Given a set of rules,
+`make` will work out all the dependencies between components
+and ensure everything is built in the right order
+and nothing that is up-to-date is rebuilt.
+Great in principle
+but `make` is notoriously difficult for beginners to learn,
+as much of the logic for how builds are actually carried out
+is hidden beneath the surface.
+This also makes it difficult to debug problems
+when building large projects.
+For these reasons,
+the [*SC Build* category][SC Build] called for a replacement build tool
+engineered from the ground up to solve these problems.
+
+The second round winner, ScCons,
+is a [Python-based make-like build tool][SCons]
+written by Steven Knight.
+While I could find no evidence of any of the other shortlisted entries,
+this project (now renamed SCons)
+continues in active use and development to this day.
+
+I actually use this one myself from time to time
+and to be honest I prefer it in many cases
+to trendy new tools like [rake][] or [grunt][]
+and the behemoth that is [Apache Ant][].
+Its Python-based `SConstruct` file syntax is remarkably intuitive
+and scales nicely from very simple builds
+up to big and complicated project,
+with good dependency tracking to avoid unnecessary recompiling.
+It has a lot of built-in rules for performing common build & compile tasks,
+but it's trivial to add your own,
+either by combining existing building blocks
+or by writing a new builder with the full power of Python.
+
+A minimal `SConstruct` file looks like this:
+
+```python
+Program('hello.c')
+```
+
+Couldn't be simpler!
+And you have the full power of Python syntax
+to keep your build file simple and readable.
+
+It's interesting that all the entries in this category apart from one
+chose to use a Python-derived syntax for describing build steps.
+Python was clearly already a language of choice
+for flexible multi-purpose computing.
+The exception is the entry that chose to use XML instead,
+which I think is a horrible idea
+(oh how I used to love XML!)
+but has been used to great effect in the Java world
+by tools like Ant and Maven.
+
+[make]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Make_(software)
+[GNU make]: https://www.gnu.org/software/make/
+[SC Build]: https://web.archive.org/web/20061116215358/http://www.software-carpentry.com/sc_build/index.html
+[SCons]: http://scons.org/
+[rake]: http://rake.rubyforge.org/
+[grunt]: http://gruntjs.com/
+[Apache Ant]: https://ant.apache.org/

content/post/2016-08-swc-archaeology.md

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ topics:
 tags:
 - Software Carpentry
 - Web archaeology
+series: swc-archaeology
 ---
 
 > "Software Carpentry was originally a competition to design new software tools,