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This text is filled with the nuts-and-bolts details of running these three utilities, including command-line switches and the actual, generated files that automate the build process and help programmers port code between different environments. As such, this title will be appreciated by those at their workstations who want a hands-on guide to using the autotools.
There's a danger of missing the forest for the trees here, with all this necessary detail, but the middle sections of this book pull back a little with several useful chapters on the bigger picture of code "portability". Chapters on both C and C++ portability explore language features that are likely to cause trouble when code is moved between different versions of UNIX (or even between UNIX and Windows). A similar section also discusses the issues when developing portable shell scripts.
Readers will also appreciate sections devoted to actual source code built with the autotools. Starting out simply, the authors also provide examples of more complex source code modules (including projects that make use of dynamic loading and cross-platform builds). The genius of the autotools utilities is certainly in the details of command line switches and the expert tips offered here. But it is also good to get a perspective on why you use these tools, and what they do for the working UNIX developer.
By covering both fronts, the nitty-gritty and the higher level issues of "portability" in a broader sense, this title succeeds as both a hands-on reference and as a guide to understanding how to write more portable code generally. It will be a virtual must-have for any serious UNIX C/C++ programmer. Although it's not a book you necessarily read cover-to-cover, it's chockfull of useful advice that can save considerable time for anyone who writes software for UNIX and Linux. --Richard Dragan
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If you are a developer and are looking to participate in the Open Source development growth area you will need to learn new Open Source tools. GNU autoconf, GNU automake and GNU libtool are key tools for Open Source application development. These tools are not easy to learn, so some of the leading authorities on these tools have agreed to work together on this book to teach developers how to boost their productivity and the portability of their application. This book place New Riders/MTP at the center of the Open Source development community. Autoconf, Automake and Libtool is an efficient discourse on the use of autoconf, automake and libtool aimed at reducing the steep learning curve normally associated with these tools. This is a study guide to the interactions between the tools, and how best to get them to cooperate. If you are a developer and have no GNU build environment expertise, this book will help you develop these tools completely and confidently.
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Customer Reviews
The autoconf/automake utilities are such black boxes it's easy to get confused by what's going on, but this book is a clear and concise description of the process.
There's good coverage of setting up autoconf and automake for small and large projects and on the advanced features of the autoconf system: dynamic loading, extending the system, etc...
I recommend this book to anyone needing to setup an open source software project or to programmers who want to get configuration management done the right way.
However, as of Nov 2003, the versions of autoconf, automake and libtool that the book uses are very out of date and very deprecated. It's not a matter of "some things have changed", it's a matter of "they're completely different".
The main ideas and concepts remain the same, but as for the details... you will NOT be able to use autoconf / automake / libtool after reading the book. You'll be floundering in "did I do something wrong or is this just because I'm using a newer version?".
Do not buy this book until the authors update it. You will NOT learn the subject material and will be very sorry you spent the money.
More to the point, if you want to distribute your source code and allow users to compile it on many different systems, this book offers you a step by step understanding of what needs to be done to make that happen.
I got this book because I was looking to 'cross-compile' some programs. (That is, compile a program on one machine but run it on another) Thanks to the intelligent layout - I was able to get the program compiled and going in a couple of hours.
One caveat, this is not for the 'newbie' or faint-at-heart. You will need to at least understand the concepts of compilers, linkers, libraries, etc. in order to comprehend this book. However, you don't have to be a programming-guru. I think that even administrators will get alot out of this book. Particularly, helping them understand how to set the options needed to get pesky software installed.
Overall, a *very* good book!
Months later, and after doing some actual Linux C development myself (a command interpreter, no less), I came back to this book, and was able to get a lot more out of it. Just be aware that it is geared toward someone doing really involved open-source/GPL'd C development.
This book may have been better if each feature of the autotools were discussed in a more abstract way, without following the development of this sic shell. It is interesting, but that kind of orginisation forces you to read it from front to end to effectively understand it, which of course you SHOULD do, but it's at the expense of being a solid reference. It's no biggie, though, because the free GNU documentation fills that gap.
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