GNU Autoconf, Automake, and Libtool

20.5. Writing Macros Within the GNU Autotools Framework

With a good grasp of M4 concepts, you can now turn your attention to applying these principles to writing 'configure.in' files and new '.m4' macro files. There are some differences between writing generic M4 input files and macros within the GNU Autotools framework and these are covered in this section, along with some useful hints on working within the framework. This section ties in closely with Chapter 22, "Writing New Macros for Autoconf."

Now that you are familiar with the capabilities of M4, you can forget about the names of the built-in M4 macros—they should be avoided in the GNU Autotools framework. Where appropriate, the framework provides a collection of macros laid on top ...