(automake.info.gz) Introduction

 
 Introduction
 ************
 
    Automake is a tool for automatically generating `Makefile.in's from
 files called `Makefile.am'.  Each `Makefile.am' is basically a series
 of `make' variable definitions(1), with rules being thrown in
 occasionally.  The generated `Makefile.in's are compliant with the GNU
 Makefile standards.
 
    The GNU Makefile Standards Document ( Makefile Conventions
 (standards)Makefile Conventions.)  is long, complicated, and subject to
 change.  The goal of Automake is to remove the burden of Makefile
 maintenance from the back of the individual GNU maintainer (and put it
 on the back of the Automake maintainer).
 
    The typical Automake input file is simply a series of variable
 definitions.  Each such file is processed to create a `Makefile.in'.
 There should generally be one `Makefile.am' per directory of a project.
 
    Automake does constrain a project in certain ways; for instance it
 assumes that the project uses Autoconf ( Introduction
 (autoconf)Top.), and enforces certain restrictions on the
 `configure.in' contents(2).
 
    Automake requires `perl' in order to generate the `Makefile.in's.
 However, the distributions created by Automake are fully GNU
 standards-compliant, and do not require `perl' in order to be built.
 
    Mail suggestions and bug reports for Automake to
 <bug-automake@gnu.org>.
 
    ---------- Footnotes ----------
 
    (1) These variables are also called "make macros" in Make
 terminology, however in this manual we reserve the term "macro" for
 Autoconf's macros.
 
    (2) Autoconf 2.50 promotes `configure.ac' over `configure.in'.  The
 rest of this documentation will refer to `configure.in' as this use is
 not yet spread, but Automake supports `configure.ac' too.
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