Autoconf

Autoconf
1 Introduction
2 The GNU Build System
- 2.1 Automake
- 2.2 Gnulib
- 2.3 Libtool
- 2.4 Pointers
3 Making configure Scripts
- 3.1 Writing configure.ac
- 3.2 Using autoscan to Create configure.ac
- 3.3 Using ifnames to List Conditionals
- 3.4 Using autoconf to Create configure
- 3.5 Using autoreconf to Update configure Scripts
4 Initialization and Output Files
- 4.1 Initializing configure
- 4.2 Dealing with Autoconf versions
- 4.3 Notices in configure
- 4.4 Finding configure Input
- 4.5 Outputting Files
- 4.6 Performing Configuration Actions
- 4.7 Creating Configuration Files
- 4.8 Substitutions in Makefiles
- 4.9 Configuration Header Files
- 4.10 Running Arbitrary Configuration Commands
- 4.11 Creating Configuration Links
- 4.12 Configuring Other Packages in Subdirectories
- 4.13 Default Prefix
5 Existing Tests
- 5.1 Common Behavior
  - 5.1.1 Standard Symbols
  - 5.1.2 Default Includes
- 5.2 Alternative Programs
  - 5.2.1 Particular Program Checks
  - 5.2.2 Generic Program and File Checks
- 5.3 Files
- 5.4 Library Files
- 5.5 Library Functions
- 5.6 Header Files
- 5.7 Declarations
  - 5.7.1 Particular Declaration Checks
  - 5.7.2 Generic Declaration Checks
- 5.8 Structures
  - 5.8.1 Particular Structure Checks
  - 5.8.2 Generic Structure Checks
- 5.9 Types
  - 5.9.1 Particular Type Checks
  - 5.9.2 Generic Type Checks
- 5.10 Compilers and Preprocessors
- 5.11 System Services
- 5.12 Posix Variants
- 5.13 Erlang Libraries
6 Writing Tests
- 6.1 Language Choice
- 6.2 Writing Test Programs
- 6.3 Running the Preprocessor
- 6.4 Running the Compiler
- 6.5 Running the Linker
- 6.6 Checking Runtime Behavior
- 6.7 Systemology
- 6.8 Multiple Cases
7 Results of Tests
- 7.1 Defining C Preprocessor Symbols
- 7.2 Setting Output Variables
- 7.3 Special Characters in Output Variables
- 7.4 Caching Results
- 7.5 Printing Messages
8 Programming in M4
- 8.1 M4 Quotation
- 8.2 Using autom4te
  - 8.2.1 Invoking autom4te
  - 8.2.2 Customizing autom4te
- 8.3 Programming in M4sugar
- 8.4 Programming in M4sh
- 8.5 File Descriptor Macros
9 Writing Autoconf Macros
- 9.1 Macro Definitions
- 9.2 Macro Names
- 9.3 Reporting Messages
- 9.4 Dependencies Between Macros
- 9.5 Obsoleting Macros
- 9.6 Coding Style
10 Portable Shell Programming
- 10.1 Shellology
- 10.2 Here-Documents
- 10.3 File Descriptors
- 10.4 File System Conventions
- 10.5 Shell Pattern Matching
- 10.6 Shell Substitutions
- 10.7 Assignments
- 10.8 Parentheses in Shell Scripts
- 10.9 Slashes in Shell Scripts
- 10.10 Special Shell Variables
- 10.11 Shell Functions
- 10.12 Limitations of Shell Builtins
- 10.13 Limitations of Usual Tools
11 Portable Make Programming
- 11.1 $< in Ordinary Make Rules
- 11.2 Failure in Make Rules
- 11.3 Special Characters in Make Macro Names
- 11.4 Backslash-Newline-Newline in Make Macro Values
- 11.5 Backslash-Newline in Make Comments
- 11.6 Long Lines in Makefiles
- 11.7 make macro=value and Submakes
- 11.8 The Make Macro MAKEFLAGS
- 11.9 The Make Macro SHELL
- 11.10 Comments in Make Rules
- 11.11 The obj/ Subdirectory and Make
- 11.12 Exit Status of make -k
- 11.13 VPATH and Make
- 11.14 Single Suffix Rules and Separated Dependencies
- 11.15 Timestamp Resolution and Make
12 Portable C and C++ Programming
- 12.1 Varieties of Unportability
- 12.2 Integer Overflow
- 12.3 Preprocessor Arithmetic
- 12.4 Properties of Null Pointers
- 12.5 Buffer Overruns and Subscript Errors
- 12.6 Volatile Objects
- 12.7 Floating Point Portability
- 12.8 Exiting Portably
13 Manual Configuration
- 13.1 Specifying the System Type
- 13.2 Getting the Canonical System Type
- 13.3 Using the System Type
14 Site Configuration
- 14.1 Controlling Help Output
- 14.2 Working With External Software
- 14.3 Choosing Package Options
- 14.4 Making Your Help Strings Look Pretty
- 14.5 Controlling Checking of configure Options
- 14.6 Configuring Site Details
- 14.7 Transforming Program Names When Installing
- 14.8 Setting Site Defaults
15 Running configure Scripts
- 15.1 Basic Installation
- 15.2 Compilers and Options
- 15.3 Compiling For Multiple Architectures
- 15.4 Installation Names
- 15.5 Optional Features
- 15.6 Particular systems
- 15.7 Specifying the System Type
- 15.8 Sharing Defaults
- 15.9 Defining Variables
- 15.10 configure Invocation
16 config.status Invocation
17 Obsolete Constructs
- 17.1 Obsolete config.status Invocation
- 17.2 acconfig.h
- 17.3 Using autoupdate to Modernize configure.ac
- 17.4 Obsolete Macros
- 17.5 Upgrading From Version 1
- 17.6 Upgrading From Version 2.13
18 Generating Test Suites with Autotest
- 18.1 Using an Autotest Test Suite
  - 18.1.1 testsuite Scripts
  - 18.1.2 Autotest Logs
- 18.2 Writing testsuite.at
- 18.3 Running testsuite Scripts
- 18.4 Making testsuite Scripts
19 Frequent Autoconf Questions, with answers
- 19.1 Distributing configure Scripts
- 19.2 Why Require GNU M4?
- 19.3 How Can I Bootstrap?
- 19.4 Why Not Imake?
- 19.5 How Do I #define Installation Directories?
- 19.6 What is autom4te.cache?
- 19.7 Header Present But Cannot Be Compiled
20 History of Autoconf
- 20.1 Genesis
- 20.2 Exodus
- 20.3 Leviticus
- 20.4 Numbers
- 20.5 Deuteronomy
Appendix A GNU Free Documentation License
Appendix B Indices
- B.1 Environment Variable Index
- B.2 Output Variable Index
- B.3 Preprocessor Symbol Index
- B.4 Autoconf Macro Index
- B.5 M4 Macro Index
- B.6 Autotest Macro Index
- B.7 Program and Function Index
- B.8 Concept Index

Autoconf

This manual (9 September 2008) is for GNU Autoconf (version 2.63), a package for creating scripts to configure source code packages using templates and an M4 macro package.

Autoconf

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