Rejuvenating Autoconf

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GNU Autoconf, a widely used build tool that shines at compatibility with a variety of Unixes, has accumulated many improvements since its last release in 2012 — and there are patches awaiting review. While many projects have switched to other build systems, interest in Autoconf remains. Now, a small team (disclaimer: including me) is rejuvenating it, working through some deferred maintenance and code review. A testable beta is now out, a new stable release is due in early November, and interested parties can build on this momentum to further refresh the rest of the GNU Build System (also known as Autotools).

GNU Autoconf is a tool for producing configure scripts for building, installing and packaging software on POSIX systems. It is a core component of the GNU Build System. When a user installs a software package on the command line by compiling it from source, they are often instructed to run: $ ./configure; make; make install Those steps do the following:

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