No, that absolutely is the point of `make`. You quoted the "overview of make" page[0] which does say "The make utility automatically determines which pieces of a large program need to be recompiled, and issues commands to recompile them."

However, that same page, about 5 lines down, expands to say:

> Indeed, 'make' is not limited to programs. You can use it to describe any task where some files must be updated automatically from others whenever the others change.

Which is exactly what the original poster is claiming.