I've started using make for production data generation (not building software) instead of pure Python. Mostly to tie together Python scripts doing the real work.
Pro
-dependency management for free
-well-known paradigm makes it easy for someone other than me to figure out where to look if something went wrong.
-scripts I call out to can be focused
Cons
-syntax
-for processes that don't generate an output (think adding data to a file in place) I wind up creating placeholder files ("file.transformA.done").
I actually want my dependency management to be terse and declarative, which is the opposite of what I'm looking for in a programming language, so it feels like a pretty natural divide.
Pro
-dependency management for free
-well-known paradigm makes it easy for someone other than me to figure out where to look if something went wrong.
-scripts I call out to can be focused
Cons -syntax
-for processes that don't generate an output (think adding data to a file in place) I wind up creating placeholder files ("file.transformA.done").
I actually want my dependency management to be terse and declarative, which is the opposite of what I'm looking for in a programming language, so it feels like a pretty natural divide.