Love me some make -- here is a session:

  : fred@dejah ~ $; cat >hello.c
  #include <stdio.h>
  int main() {printf("hello\n"); return 0;}
  ^D
  : fred@dejah ~ $; make hello
  gcc     hello.c   -o hello
  : fred@dejah ~ $; 

How about that? make with no Makefile. The unicorn doesn't even exist. Which is as clean as it can get. make only resolves dependencies. Which is as slim as it can get. Early we agree on.