Why would somebody release software that they didn't want to see used?
To your other point, Autotools is little crusty for sure. It's Yet Another Language to learn (and so is CMake), but it's really not as bad as people make it out to be. There are many thousands of examples in the wild, good and bad.
Yes, Autoconf tests for a bunch of stupid things that don't matter. But so what? You can add the tests you _do_ care about, and take advantage of the directory control and compiler control aspects.
If you've never actually worked with Autotools (which you just said you haven't), I'd encourage you to actually try it out. It's not as bad as you think.
Not everyone wants to see their software used. Some want to see the ideas in the code be used elsewhere. In that case the code is meant so others to study and understand.
You can see this in software papers where the algorithm is described by pseudocode, or only the core part of the algorithm is shown. Presumably the rest of the code is obvious to others in the field.
Releasing non-portable source is a step above that common practice.
I've used Autotools. I've contributed to Autotools. I agree that it's a steaming monstrosity. I never want to look at an m4 macro again.
I have tried working with autotools. Many times. I guess it's down to mindset: some people don't mind working on top of a pile of manure and don't really see what the big deal is.
I guess "touched" is the wrong word. I did enough "touching" of it unfortunately: using it to compile packages, trying to fix it, wasting precious time wading through pages of horrible shell code to understand why it fails when it does.
I even tried a couple of time to use it in my own projects , naively thinking that it's so widespread there's got to be something to it I'm not seeing.
I gave up on it in disgust everytime. The list of reasons is long, but I guess if I have to pick the one thing that really drive me nuts: most packages out there compile wayfaster than it takes to configure them.
If that specific fact doesn't make you walk away from it immediately, our brains just aren't wired the same.
To your other point, Autotools is little crusty for sure. It's Yet Another Language to learn (and so is CMake), but it's really not as bad as people make it out to be. There are many thousands of examples in the wild, good and bad.
Yes, Autoconf tests for a bunch of stupid things that don't matter. But so what? You can add the tests you _do_ care about, and take advantage of the directory control and compiler control aspects.
If you've never actually worked with Autotools (which you just said you haven't), I'd encourage you to actually try it out. It's not as bad as you think.