Xilinx ISE vs batch mode (command line / makefile)

I don't know. I truly loathe the ISE and since most Xilinx tools produce output that seems (at first glance) more suited towards command line I feel that command line should be better. It can't be worse. Of course this means I have to figure out how to work in the command line. I've now installed cygwin to use the *nix (Linux, Unix) tools and makefile system. Since I never remember how to write makefiles (it's been a few years), I'm busy experimenting and getting frustrated all over again. Tabs (as in the \t or 4 or so spaces thingy) makes a difference in makefiles. And GViM doesn't identify or tabify makefiles properly. This is all very frustrating. My nerves were twitching quite a bit by the end of the day. I think I will try to work within the ISE tomorrow and perhaps during compilations see what I can figure out about command line or batch mode compilation.