"As an intensive (and reluctant) user of GNU Make, I keep looking for a more modern replacement."
Unless I am mistaken, the author of https://cr.yp.to/redo.html never implemented the idea. He has since used only the Bourne shell and standard UNIX utilties as a build system instead of make. For example, consider the "do" script in this project: https://nacl.cr.yp.to
The "do" script was written circa 2011. The idea for "redo" was published circa 2003. The idea for "make" dates back to 1976. GNU Make was written around 1989.
For the avoidance of doubt, I am not suggesting any of these build system ideas or implementations are better or worse than the others. That is for the reader to decide. I am only pointing out which one is the most recent, or most modern, if we use the word "modern" according to its dictionary definition.
Unless I am mistaken, the author of https://cr.yp.to/redo.html never implemented the idea. He has since used only the Bourne shell and standard UNIX utilties as a build system instead of make. For example, consider the "do" script in this project: https://nacl.cr.yp.to
The "do" script was written circa 2011. The idea for "redo" was published circa 2003. The idea for "make" dates back to 1976. GNU Make was written around 1989. For the avoidance of doubt, I am not suggesting any of these build system ideas or implementations are better or worse than the others. That is for the reader to decide. I am only pointing out which one is the most recent, or most modern, if we use the word "modern" according to its dictionary definition.