Linux From Scratch: Version 5.1-pre1
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# Installing Autoconf-2.59

The Autoconf package contains programs for producing shell scripts that can automatically configure source code.

    Approximate build time:  2.9 SBU
    Required disk space:     7.7 MB

Official download location for Autoconf (2.59):
ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/autoconf/

For its installation Autoconf depends on: Bash, Coreutils, Diffutils, Grep, M4, Make, Perl, Sed.

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## Installation of Autoconf

Prepare Autoconf for compilation:

    ./configure --prefix=/usr

Compile the package:

    make

This package has a test suite available which performs a number of checks to ensure it will function correctly. It's worth noting that Autoconf does not play a critical role in the overall operation of an LFS system. In addition, the Autoconf test suite runs for quite a long period of time. Accordingly, the running of the test suite here is not crucial. Should you choose to run the Autoconf test suite, the following command will do so:

    make check

And install the package:

    make install

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## Contents of Autoconf

Installed programs: autoconf, autoheader, autom4te, autoreconf, autoscan, autoupdate and ifnames

## Short descriptions

autoconf is a tool for producing shell scripts that automatically configure software source code packages to adapt to many kinds of Unix-like systems. The configuration scripts it produces are independent -- running them does not require the autoconf program.

autoheader is a tool for creating template files of C #define statements for configure to use.

autom4te is a wrapper for the M4 macro processor.

autoreconf comes in handy when there are a lot of autoconf-generated configure scripts around. The program runs autoconf and autoheader repeatedly (where appropriate) to remake the autoconf configure scripts and configuration header templates in a given directory tree.

autoscan can help to create a `configure.in` file for a software package. It examines the source files in a directory tree, searching them for common portability problems and creates a `configure.scan` file that serves as as a preliminary `configure.in` for the package.

autoupdate modifies a `configure.in` file that still calls autoconf macros by their old names to use the current macro names.

ifnames can be helpful when writing a `configure.in` for a software package. It prints the identifiers that the package uses in C preprocessor conditionals. If a package has already been set up to have some portability, this program can help to determine what configure needs to check. It can fill in some gaps in a `configure.in` file generated by autoscan.

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