# Makefiles in 2019 -- Why They Still Matter

DevFeed: [Makefiles in 2019 -- Why They Still Matter](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/makefiles-in-2019-why-they-still-matter-27981.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://tech.trivago.com/post/2019-12-20-makefiles-in-2019/>)

Author: Simon Brüggen Professional Makefile guru; Jenkins wrangler Follow

Published: 2019-12-20T00:00:00Z

Content type: tutorial

Language: en

Sources: [Trivago](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/trivago.md>)

Topics: [make](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/make.md>), [Microservices](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/microservices.md>), [Cloud](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/cloud.md>), [AWS CloudFormation](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/aws-cloudformation.md>), [Amazon EC2](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/amazon-ec2.md>), [AWS IAM](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/aws-iam.md>)

Tags: [aws-cloudformation](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/aws-cloudformation.md>), [backend](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/backend.md>), [build](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/build.md>), [cloud](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/cloud.md>), [devops](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/devops.md>), [ec2](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ec2.md>), [iam](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/iam.md>), [make](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/make.md>), [microservices](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/microservices.md>), [release-engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/release-engineering.md>)

## AI overview

The article explains how Makefiles can support the development, testing, packaging, and deployment of cloud-based microservices. It highlights the risks of relying on manual README instructions, including outdated documentation, guesswork, and trial-and-error when deploying projects with AWS CloudFormation, EC2, and IAM.

## Source excerpt

Make was created in 1976 by Stuart Feldman at Bell Labs to help build C programs. But how can this 40+ year old piece of software help us develop and maintain our ever-growing amount of cloud-based microservices?