Autoconfiscation

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Autoconfiscation is the process of converting the source code of a particular software project to support the GNU build system, also known as the GNU autotools, in the software build process. The term autoconfiscation was coined by Noah Friedman.

The first step in autoconfiscation is the generation of an autoconf input file, usually named configure.ac, which contains a set of m4 macros that, when processed with the GNU autoconf utility, generates a configure script which facilitates the discovery and configuration of software development environments. Most configure scripts (at a minimum) assume a Makefile.in input file, which is used to generate, based on the desired configure options and software development environment, a Makefile used for compiling and building software using make.

The second step in autoconfiscation is typically the automation of Makefile.in generation, usually through the use of the GNU automake utility and a Makefile.am input file.