Eric S. Raymond, a co-founder of the Open Source Initiative (OSI), has developed a project called autodafe aimed at simplifying the process of assembling instructions and scripts used by autotools utilities into a single Makefile. The project, written in Python and released under the BSD license, streamlines the configuration process for developers.
One key component of autodafe is the makemake utility, which converts Automake assembly files into editable Makefiles, eliminating the need for developers to navigate complex internal structures. Additionally, the use of the fdex utility allows projects to fully transition away from autotools, replacing them with a standard makefile.
The inspiration behind creating autodafe was the desire to return to using traditional Makefiles after a security incident involving the introduction of a backdoor into the XZ package. The project aims to make the development process more transparent and accessible for developers.