5.2 Writing Makefile rules for libtool

Libtool is fully integrated with Automake (see Introduction in The Automake Manual), starting with Automake version 1.2.

If you want to use libtool in a regular Makefile (or Makefile.in), you are on your own. If you’re not using Automake, and you don’t know how to incorporate libtool into your package you need to do one of the following:

  1. Download the latest Automake distribution from your nearest GNU mirror, install it, and start using it.
  2. Learn how to write Makefile rules by hand. They’re sometimes complex, but if you’re clever enough to write rules for compiling your old libraries, then you should be able to figure out new rules for libtool libraries (hint: examine the Makefile.in in the tests/testsuite.dir/027 subdirectory, generated from the Autotest labeled ’link against a preloaded static library’ in tests/demo.at, of the libtool distribution; note especially that it was automatically generated from the Makefile.am by Automake).