Summary

This paper has introduced SCons, a next-generation build tool with a modular, embeddable architecture and a direct Python interface. SCons has a global view of the dependencies in a source tree, uses MD5 signatures to decide if derived files are out of date, and automatically scans files for dependencies, all of which make SCons builds exceptionally reliable. The SCons development methodology has been described, notable for its emphasis on automated regression testing to ensure a robust and reliable tool from day one. Several future directions for SCons have also been discussed.