autoconf Command in Linux
autoconf is a Linux command used in the software development process to develop portable and customizable configuration scripts for software packages. The autoconf typically works with a file named configure.ac or configure.in. These files contain macros, checks and instructions for generating the final configure script.
The main purpose of generating the configuration scripts on a system is to configure software before compilation and make it eligible to run on different platforms. Thus, this command helps you ensure software portability and cross-platform compatibility.
Table of Contents
- How to Install autoconf Command in Linux?
- Syntax for autoconf Command in Linux
- Different Options Available for autoconf Command
- Examples of autoconf Command in Linux
How to Install autoconf Command in Linux?
The autoconf command is not preinstalled on your Linux system. However, you can install this command directly from your Linux repository using the official systems package manager.
The Debian-based systems users can install autoconf command-line utility on their system from the apt package manager using the following command −
sudo apt install autoconf
REHL users can install the autoconf utility from the yums package manager using the following command −
sudo yum install autoconf
The Fedora and CentOS users can install autoconf on their systems from the dnf package manager using the below-provided command −
sudo dnf install autoconf
Once you installed the autoconf utility on Linux, you can confirm the installation by using the below-given command −
autoconf --version
Syntax for autoconf Command in Linux
The general syntax to use the autoconf command on Linux is provided below −
autoconf [OPTION]... [TEMPLATE-FILE]
The autoconf will generate configuration scripts for software projects. [OPTION] are command-line options that modify the behavior of autoconf command. The [TEMPLATE-FILE] is an optional input file that contains macro, checks and instructions for generating the config scripts.
Different Options Available for autoconf Command
The autoconf command comes with a variety of options to complete its operations. Here are some commonly used options along with their descriptions −
| Options | Description |
|---|---|
| -h, --help | Prints help |
| -V, --version | Prints version number |
| -v, --verbose | Provides detailed processing information. |
| -d, --debug | Do not remove temporary files |
| -f, --force | Treats all files as obsolete. |
| -o, --output=FILE | Saves the output to a specified file. |
| -W, --warnings=CATEGORY | Reports the warnings falling in a specific category. |
Examples of autoconf Command in Linux
Lets explore some commonly used examples of autoconf command in Linux.
- Create a Configuration Script
- Save Output to a File
- Verbose Processing Output
- Get Version Number
- Debugging
Create a Configuration Script
One of the most commonly used examples of autoconf command is to create a configuration script on your Linux system. For that purpose, you must run the autoconf command inside a directory where the configure.ac or configure.in files are placed. Once you are inside the directory, simply run the autoconf command without an argument −
autoconf
After you execute the above command, you will get your configuration script within some time.
As an example, suppose we have a configure.ac file in the current directory, as provided below −
Now, once we run the autoconf command at the current location, it will create a script with the name configure, as shown below −
Save Output to a File
By default, the autoconf command creates a script file using the default configuration file name. However, you can save your script file according to your choice using the -o option followed by the output file name. In the following example, we have saved the output script file with the name my_config using the below-given command
autoconf -o my_config
The following image confirms that my_config script file is successfully created on the system −
Verbose Processing Output
If you want to get detailed processing information during the autoconf command execution, you can use the -v option. For example, we are using the following command to get verbose processing output information of creating a script file −
autoconf -v
Get Version Number
If you want to get the version number of autoconf command on your Linux system, then use the below-given command −
autoconf -V
This will output the version of the autoconf command line utility installed on your Linux system −
Debugging
If you want to debug the autoconf process by not removing the temporary files, you can use the -d option, the command is provided below −
autoconf -d
The above command will run autoconf in debug mode, and it will not delete the autom4te.cache directory or any *.m4f temporary files. Thus, allowing you to inspect them for troubleshooting.
Thats how you can work with the autoconf command on your Linux system.
Conclusion
autoconf is a powerful Linux command used for creating a configuration script that you can run on multiple platforms. In this tutorial, we explained the method to install autoconf commands on different Linux systems including Debian-based, REHL, Fedora and CentOS. Apart from that, syntax and options of autoconf command are also discussed and illustrated with the help of examples.