Re: Need help with cleaning up a working GNU Autotools setup

[Peter T. Breuer]

In comp.os.linux.development.system Dan Espen <daneNO@spam.mk.telcordia.com> 
wrote:
> [ptb]
>> I don't know what environment you want! but I have described for you
>> how to compile outside the source tree, and I do not understand what
>> you are talking about autotools for. It is your own business how you
>> make the ./configure file

> I've seen a few things set up with hand made configure files
> but using autoconf will get you so much farther in terms of
> portability.

Nobody is saying that he shouldn't - it's his own business how he makes
the ./configure file in the build/ directory, and if he wants to use
autoconf to do so, that would be eminently reasonable! A line like

    $(BUILD)/.done:
        cp configure.in $(BUILD)/; cd $(BUILD); autoconf; ./configure
        ...


in his top Makefile would do it for him. 

What he is looking for is some way to do the above without doing the
above. And I don't see the point.

Peter