CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en" dir="ltr" xmlns:og="https://ogp.me/ns#"> <head> <link rel="profile" href="https://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml/vocab" /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="https://nostarch.com/sites/default/files/favicon.ico" type="image/vnd.microsoft.icon" /> <meta name="description" content="Autotools, 2nd Edition is the long awaited update to the practitioner's guide to GNU Autoconf, Automake, and Libtool." /> <meta name="generator" content="Drupal 7 (http://drupal.org)" /> <link rel="image_src" href="https://nostarch.com/sites/default/files/autotools2e_frontcover.png" /> <link rel="canonical" href="https://nostarch.com/autotools2e" /> <link rel="shortlink" href="https://nostarch.com/node/503" /> <meta property="og:type" content="article" /> <meta property="og:url" content="https://nostarch.com/autotools2e" /> <meta property="og:title" content="Autotools, 2nd Edition" /> <meta property="og:description" content="Autotools, 2nd Edition is the long awaited update to the practitioner's guide to GNU Autoconf, Automake, and Libtool." /> <meta property="og:updated_time" content="2025-03-21T09:40:34-07:00" /> <meta property="og:image:url" content="https://nostarch.com/sites/default/files/autotools2e_frontcover.png" /> <meta property="og:image:secure_url" content="https://nostarch.com/sites/default/files/autotools2e_frontcover.png" /> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary" /> <meta name="twitter:site" content="@nostarch" /> <meta name="twitter:url" content="https://nostarch.com/autotools2e" /> <meta name="twitter:title" content="Autotools, 2nd Edition" /> <meta name="twitter:description" content="Autotools, 2nd Edition is the long awaited update to the practitioner's guide to GNU Autoconf, Automake, and Libtool." /> <meta name="twitter:image" content="https://nostarch.com/sites/default/files/autotools2e_frontcover.png" /> <meta property="product:price:amount" content="49.95" /> <meta property="product:price:currency" content="USD" /> <meta property="product:isbn" content="9781593279721" /> <meta property="article:published_time" content="2018-12-13T17:41:01-08:00" /> <meta property="article:modified_time" content="2025-03-21T09:40:34-07:00" /> <meta property="product:retailer_part_no" content="autotools2e-combo" /> <meta property="product:mfr_part_no" content="autotools2e-combo" /> <title>Autotools, 2nd Edition | No Starch Press</title> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://nostarch.com/sites/default/files/css/css_lQaZfjVpwP_oGNqdtWCSpJT1EMqXdMiU84ekLLxQnc4.css" media="all" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://nostarch.com/sites/default/files/css/css_guSWpwqRBCVb2J7ivC8BaNuaPffCXmbkGB5xDBqKKu8.css" media="all" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://nostarch.com/sites/default/files/css/css_Dw0rmhFX_owMmlf1HH5Y-_BnOHcMlkri1yMjYHD4ffs.css" media="all" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://nostarch.com/sites/default/files/css/css_XJm3Wqia1GUjoI4j54duSLNZVR3Kxhbwy0s3UwuhhHg.css" media="all" />   <script src="//ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.2.4/jquery.min.js"></script> <script>window.jQuery || document.write("<script src='/sites/all/modules/contrib/jquery_update/replace/jquery/2.2/jquery.min.js'>\x3C/script>")</script> <script src="https://nostarch.com/misc/jquery-extend-3.4.0.js?v=2.2.4"></script> <script src="https://nostarch.com/misc/jquery-html-prefilter-3.5.0-backport.js?v=2.2.4"></script> <script src="https://nostarch.com/misc/jquery.once.js?v=1.2"></script> <script src="https://nostarch.com/misc/drupal.js?stn5l0"></script> <script src="https://nostarch.com/sites/all/modules/contrib/jquery_update/js/jquery_browser.js?v=0.0.1"></script> <script src="https://nostarch.com/misc/form-single-submit.js?v=7.103"></script> <script src="https://nostarch.com/sites/all/modules/contrib/ubercart/uc_file/uc_file.js?stn5l0"></script> <script src="https://nostarch.com/sites/all/libraries/colorbox/jquery.colorbox-min.js?stn5l0"></script> <script src="https://nostarch.com/sites/all/modules/contrib/colorbox/js/colorbox.js?stn5l0"></script> <script src="https://nostarch.com/sites/all/modules/contrib/colorbox/styles/plain/colorbox_style.js?stn5l0"></script> <script src="https://nostarch.com/sites/all/modules/contrib/colorbox/js/colorbox_load.js?stn5l0"></script> <script src="https://nostarch.com/sites/all/modules/contrib/colorbox/js/colorbox_inline.js?stn5l0"></script> <script src="https://nostarch.com/sites/all/modules/contrib/ubercart/uc_cart/uc_cart_block.js?stn5l0"></script> <script src="https://nostarch.com/sites/all/modules/contrib/google_analytics/googleanalytics.js?stn5l0"></script> <script src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=UA-5027625-1"></script> <script>window.google_analytics_uacct = "UA-5027625-1";window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments)};gtag("js", new Date());gtag("set", "developer_id.dMDhkMT", true);gtag("config", "UA-5027625-1", {"groups":"default","anonymize_ip":true});gtag("config", "G-51XGZT9Y4H", {"groups":"default","anonymize_ip":true});</script> <script src="https://nostarch.com/sites/all/themes/nostarch/js/bootstrap.min.js?stn5l0"></script> <script src="https://nostarch.com/sites/all/themes/nostarch/js/main.js?stn5l0"></script> <script src="https://nostarch.com/sites/all/themes/nostarch/js/front_grid_height.js?stn5l0"></script> <script>jQuery.extend(Drupal.settings, {"basePath":"\/","pathPrefix":"","setHasJsCookie":0,"ajaxPageState":{"theme":"nostarch","theme_token":"QVrc2f0QXwP8ZguyGdftv5_bwq7MfHgNusj-qiC7sYE","js":{"sites\/all\/modules\/contrib\/addthis\/addthis.js":1,"sites\/all\/libraries\/shariff\/shariff.min.js":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/contrib\/bootstrap\/js\/bootstrap.js":1,"\/\/ajax.googleapis.com\/ajax\/libs\/jquery\/2.2.4\/jquery.min.js":1,"0":1,"misc\/jquery-extend-3.4.0.js":1,"misc\/jquery-html-prefilter-3.5.0-backport.js":1,"misc\/jquery.once.js":1,"misc\/drupal.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/contrib\/jquery_update\/js\/jquery_browser.js":1,"misc\/form-single-submit.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/contrib\/ubercart\/uc_file\/uc_file.js":1,"sites\/all\/libraries\/colorbox\/jquery.colorbox-min.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/contrib\/colorbox\/js\/colorbox.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/contrib\/colorbox\/styles\/plain\/colorbox_style.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/contrib\/colorbox\/js\/colorbox_load.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/contrib\/colorbox\/js\/colorbox_inline.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/contrib\/ubercart\/uc_cart\/uc_cart_block.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/contrib\/google_analytics\/googleanalytics.js":1,"https:\/\/www.googletagmanager.com\/gtag\/js?id=UA-5027625-1":1,"1":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/nostarch\/js\/bootstrap.min.js":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/nostarch\/js\/main.js":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/nostarch\/js\/front_grid_height.js":1},"css":{"modules\/system\/system.base.css":1,"modules\/field\/theme\/field.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/contrib\/logintoboggan\/logintoboggan.css":1,"modules\/node\/node.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/contrib\/uc_fedex\/uc_fedex.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/contrib\/ubercart\/uc_file\/uc_file.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/contrib\/ubercart\/uc_order\/uc_order.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/contrib\/ubercart\/uc_product\/uc_product.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/contrib\/ubercart\/uc_store\/uc_store.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/contrib\/views\/css\/views.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/contrib\/ckeditor\/css\/ckeditor.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/contrib\/uc_discounts_alt\/uc_discounts\/uc_discounts.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/contrib\/colorbox\/styles\/plain\/colorbox_style.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/contrib\/ctools\/css\/ctools.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/contrib\/ubercart\/uc_cart\/uc_cart_block.css":1,"sites\/all\/libraries\/shariff\/shariff.complete.css":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/nostarch\/css\/en_styles.css":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/nostarch\/css\/custom.css":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/nostarch\/css\/bootstrap-3-vert-offset.css":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/nostarch\/css\/bootstrap-3-autoclear.css":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/nostarch\/css\/glyphicons.css":1}},"colorbox":{"opacity":"0.85","current":"{current} of {total}","previous":"\u00ab Prev","next":"Next \u00bb","close":"Close","maxWidth":"98%","maxHeight":"98%","fixed":true,"mobiledetect":true,"mobiledevicewidth":"480px","file_public_path":"\/sites\/default\/files","specificPagesDefaultValue":"admin*\nimagebrowser*\nimg_assist*\nimce*\nnode\/add\/*\nnode\/*\/edit\nprint\/*\nprintpdf\/*\nsystem\/ajax\nsystem\/ajax\/*"},"better_exposed_filters":{"views":{"topics":{"displays":{"block":{"filters":[]}}},"related_products":{"displays":{"block":{"filters":[]}}}}},"googleanalytics":{"account":["UA-5027625-1","G-51XGZT9Y4H"],"trackOutbound":1,"trackMailto":1,"trackDownload":1,"trackDownloadExtensions":"7z|aac|arc|arj|asf|asx|avi|bin|csv|doc(x|m)?|dot(x|m)?|exe|flv|gif|gz|gzip|hqx|jar|jpe?g|js|mp(2|3|4|e?g)|mov(ie)?|msi|msp|pdf|phps|png|ppt(x|m)?|pot(x|m)?|pps(x|m)?|ppam|sld(x|m)?|thmx|qtm?|ra(m|r)?|sea|sit|tar|tgz|torrent|txt|wav|wma|wmv|wpd|xls(x|m|b)?|xlt(x|m)|xlam|xml|z|zip","trackColorbox":1},"urlIsAjaxTrusted":{"\/autotools2e":true},"bootstrap":{"anchorsFix":"0","anchorsSmoothScrolling":"0","formHasError":1,"popoverEnabled":1,"popoverOptions":{"animation":1,"html":0,"placement":"right","selector":"","trigger":"click","triggerAutoclose":1,"title":"","content":"","delay":0,"container":"body"},"tooltipEnabled":1,"tooltipOptions":{"animation":1,"html":0,"placement":"auto left","selector":"","trigger":"hover focus","delay":0,"container":"body"}}});</script> </head> <body class="html not-front not-logged-in two-sidebars page-node page-node- page-node-503 node-type-product uc-product-node"> <div id="skip-link"> <a href="#main-content" class="element-invisible element-focusable">Skip to main content</a> </div> <header id="" class="header" role="banner" class="navbar navbar-default"> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <nav role="navigation" class="navbar navbar-default visible-xs"> <div class="navbar-header"> <button type="button" class="navbar-toggle collapsed" data-toggle="collapse" data-target="#navbar" aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="navbar"> <span class="sr-only">Toggle navigation</span> <span class="icon-bar"></span> <span class="icon-bar"></span> <span class="icon-bar"></span> </button> <a class="navbar-brand text-uppercase" href="/"><img src="https://nostarch.com/sites/all/themes/nostarch/logo.png" alt="Home" class="img-responsive"/></a> </div> <div id="navbar" class="navbar-collapse collapse text-center"> <ul class="menu nav navbar-nav"><li class="first leaf"><a href="/catalog.htm" title="Explore our catalog">Catalog</a></li> <li class="leaf"><a href="https://nostarch.com/merchandise-0" title="Merchandise">Merchandise</a></li> <li class="leaf"><a href="/blog" title="The No Starch Press blog">Blog</a></li> <li class="leaf"><a href="https://nostarch.com/early-access-program" title="Media contact">Early Access</a></li> <li class="leaf"><a href="/writeforus" title="Submit a book proposal">Write for Us</a></li> <li class="leaf"><a href="/about" title="About No Starch Press">About Us</a></li> <li class="last leaf"><a href="/contactus" title="Contact Us">Contact Us</a></li> </ul> <div class="region region-navigation"> <section id="block-uc-cart-cart" class="block block-uc-cart clearfix"> <h2 class="block-title"><a href="/cart"><span class="cart-block-icon-empty" title="View your shopping cart."></span></a><span class="cart-block-title-bar" title="Show/hide shopping cart contents.">Shopping cart<span class="cart-block-arrow arrow-down"></span></span></h2> <p class="cart-block-items collapsed uc-cart-empty">There are no products in your shopping cart.</p><table class="cart-block-summary"><tbody><tr><td class="cart-block-summary-items"><span class="num-items">0</span> Items</td><td class="cart-block-summary-total"><label>Total:</label> <span class="uc-price">$0.00</span></td></tr></tbody></table> </section> <section id="block-search-api-page-site-search" class="block block-search-api-page clearfix"> <form action="/autotools2e" method="post" id="search-api-page-search-form-site-search" accept-charset="UTF-8"><div><div class="form-item form-item-keys-2 form-type-textfield form-group"><input placeholder="Search" class="form-control form-text" type="text" id="edit-keys-2" name="keys_2" value="" size="15" maxlength="128" /> <label class="control-label element-invisible" for="edit-keys-2">Enter your keywords</label> </div><input type="hidden" name="id" value="2" /> <button class="icon glyphicon glyphicon-search btn-primary form-control btn form-submit" type="submit" id="edit-submit-2" name="op" value=""></button> <input type="hidden" name="form_build_id" value="form-NP4RXdFAuPw5JY5Ynq56rSopeXnDeWk9HTAIFHELjFo" /> <input type="hidden" name="form_id" value="search_api_page_search_form_site_search" /> </div></form> </section> </div> </div> </nav> <div class="navbar-header"> <div class="logo-wrapper col-sm-6 hidden-xs"> <a class="logo navbar-btn pull-left" href="/" title="Home"> <img src="https://nostarch.com/sites/all/themes/nostarch/logo.png" alt="Home" class="img-responsive"/> </a> </div> <div class="logo-wrapper col-sm-6 hidden-xs"> <div class="region region-navigation"> <div class="region region-navigation"> <section id="block-uc-cart-cart" class="block block-uc-cart clearfix"> <h2 class="block-title"><a href="/cart"><span class="cart-block-icon-empty" title="View your shopping cart."></span></a><span class="cart-block-title-bar" title="Show/hide shopping cart contents.">Shopping cart<span class="cart-block-arrow arrow-down"></span></span></h2> <p class="cart-block-items collapsed uc-cart-empty">There are no products in your shopping cart.</p><table class="cart-block-summary"><tbody><tr><td class="cart-block-summary-items"><span class="num-items">0</span> Items</td><td class="cart-block-summary-total"><label>Total:</label> <span class="uc-price">$0.00</span></td></tr></tbody></table> </section> <section id="block-search-api-page-site-search" class="block block-search-api-page clearfix"> <form action="/autotools2e" method="post" id="search-api-page-search-form-site-search" accept-charset="UTF-8"><div><div class="form-item form-item-keys-2 form-type-textfield form-group"><input placeholder="Search" class="form-control form-text" type="text" id="edit-keys-2" name="keys_2" value="" size="15" maxlength="128" /> <label class="control-label element-invisible" for="edit-keys-2">Enter your keywords</label> </div><input type="hidden" name="id" value="2" /> <button class="icon glyphicon glyphicon-search btn-primary form-control btn form-submit" type="submit" id="edit-submit-2" name="op" value=""></button> <input type="hidden" name="form_build_id" value="form-NP4RXdFAuPw5JY5Ynq56rSopeXnDeWk9HTAIFHELjFo" /> <input type="hidden" name="form_id" value="search_api_page_search_form_site_search" /> </div></form> </section> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="navbar-collapse collapse"> <nav role="navigation"> <ul class="menu nav navbar-nav"><ul class="menu nav navbar-nav"><li class="first leaf"><a href="/catalog.htm" title="Explore our catalog">Catalog</a></li> <li class="leaf"><a href="https://nostarch.com/merchandise-0" title="Merchandise">Merchandise</a></li> <li class="leaf"><a href="/blog" title="The No Starch Press blog">Blog</a></li> <li class="leaf"><a href="https://nostarch.com/early-access-program" title="Media contact">Early Access</a></li> <li class="leaf"><a href="/writeforus" title="Submit a book proposal">Write for Us</a></li> <li class="leaf"><a href="/about" title="About No Starch Press">About Us</a></li> <li class="last leaf"><a href="/contactus" title="Contact Us">Contact Us</a></li> </ul></ul> </nav> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="main-container container"> <header role="banner" id="page-header"> </header>  <div class="row"> <aside class="col-sm-3" role="complementary"> <div class="region region-sidebar-first well"> <section id="block-views-topics-block" class="block block-views clearfix"> <button class="btn btn-primary btn-block visible-xs vert-offset-top-2" data-toggle="collapse" data-target="#topics"><span class="glyphicon glyphicon-menu-down pull-left"></span> <span class="btn-text">Topics</span><span class="glyphicon glyphicon-menu-down pull-right"></span></button> <h2 class="block-title hidden-xs">Topics</h2> <div id="topics" class="view-content collapse dont-collapse animateCollapse"> <div class="view view-topics view-id-topics view-display-id-block view-dom-id-550dcebc75323c9a7d3d201765710ca8"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="item-list"> <ul> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first"> <div class="views-field views-field-name"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/catalog/art-photography-design">Art & Design</a></span> </div></li> <li class="views-row views-row-2 views-row-even"> <div class="views-field views-field-name"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/catalog/general-computing">General Computing</a></span> </div></li> <li class="views-row views-row-3 views-row-odd"> <div class="views-field views-field-name"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/catalog/security">Hacking & Computer Security</a></span> </div></li> <li class="views-row views-row-4 views-row-even"> <div class="views-field views-field-name"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/catalog/hardware-and-diy">Hardware / DIY</a></span> </div></li> <li class="views-row views-row-5 views-row-odd"> <div class="views-field views-field-name"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/catalog/kids">Kids</a></span> </div></li> <li class="views-row views-row-6 views-row-even"> <div class="views-field views-field-name"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/catalog/lego">LEGO®</a></span> </div></li> <li class="views-row views-row-7 views-row-odd"> <div class="views-field views-field-name"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/catalog/linux-bsd-unix">Linux & BSD</a></span> </div></li> <li class="views-row views-row-8 views-row-even"> <div class="views-field views-field-name"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/catalog/manga">Manga</a></span> </div></li> <li class="views-row views-row-9 views-row-odd"> <div class="views-field views-field-name"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/catalog/programming">Programming</a></span> </div></li> <li class="views-row views-row-10 views-row-even"> <div class="views-field views-field-name"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/catalog/python">Python</a></span> </div></li> <li class="views-row views-row-11 views-row-odd"> <div class="views-field views-field-name"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/catalog/rforall">R for All</a></span> </div></li> <li class="views-row views-row-12 views-row-even"> <div class="views-field views-field-name"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/catalog/science-math">Science & Math</a></span> </div></li> <li class="views-row views-row-13 views-row-odd"> <div class="views-field views-field-name"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/catalog/scratch">Scratch</a></span> </div></li> <li class="views-row views-row-14 views-row-even"> <div class="views-field views-field-name"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/catalog/system-administration">System Administration</a></span> </div></li> <li class="views-row views-row-15 views-row-odd views-row-last"> <div class="views-field views-field-name"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/catalog/early-access">Early Access</a></span> </div></li> </ul></div> </div> <div class="view-footer"> <style> <![CDATA[/* ><!]]>*/ </style> </div> </div> </div> </section><section id="block-block-12" class="block block-block clearfix"> <div class="rounded_border_block"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><strong><span style="font-size:12px"><span style="color:#c0392b"><a href="https://nostarch.com/about_ebooks.htm">FREE ebook edition with every print book purchased from nostarch.com!</a></span></span></strong></span></div> <p class="rtecenter"><span style="font-size:22px">+</span></p> <div class="rounded_border_block"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><strong><span style="font-size:12px"><a href="https://nostarch.com/early-access-program"><span style="color:#c0392b">EARLY ACCESS lets you read full chapters months before a title's release date!</span></a></span></strong></span></div> </section> <section id="block-nostarch-custom-login-block" class="block block-nostarch-customclearfix"> <h2 class="block-title">User login</h2> <ul> <li><a href="/user">Log in</a></a></li> <li><a href="/user/register">Create account</a></a></li> </ul> </section> <section id="block-block-78" class="block block-block clearfix"> <script data-account="eeqOpWOUyZ" src="https://cdn.userway.org/widget.js"></script> </section> </div> </aside>  <section class="col-sm-6" style=""> <a id="main-content"></a> <div class="region region-content"> <section id="block-system-main" class="block block-system clearfix"> <div class="ds-1col node node-product node-promoted view-mode-full clearfix"> <div class=""> <div class="field field-name-field-image-cache field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="product-image"><div class="main-product-image"><a href="https://nostarch.com/sites/default/files/styles/uc_product_full/public/autotools2e_frontcover.png?itok=BZSv4ZQL" title="Autotools, 2nd Edition" class="colorbox" rel="uc_image_0"><img class="img-responsive" src="https://nostarch.com/sites/default/files/styles/uc_product/public/autotools2e_frontcover.png?itok=kQjfTlE8" alt="Autotools, 2nd Edition" title="Autotools, 2nd Edition" /></a></div></div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-entity-title field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><h1 class="page-header">Autotools, 2nd Edition</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-subtitle field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">A Practitioner's Guide to GNU Autoconf, Automake, and Libtool</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">by John Calcote</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-released-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">November 2019, 584 pp.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-isbn13 field-type-text field-label-inline clearfix clearfix"><div class="field-label">ISBN-13: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">9781593279721</div></div></div><div class="add-to-cart"><form action="/autotools2e" method="post" id="uc-product-add-to-cart-form-503" accept-charset="UTF-8"><div><div id="uc_product_add_to_cart_form-503-attributes" class="attributes"><div class="attribute attribute-1 odd"><div class="form-item form-item-attributes-1 form-type-radios form-group"><div id="edit-attributes-1" class="form-radios"><div class="form-item form-item-attributes-1 form-type-radio radio"> <label class="control-label" for="edit-attributes-1-3"><input type="radio" id="edit-attributes-1-3" name="attributes[1]" value="3" checked="checked" class="form-radio" />Print Book and FREE Ebook, $49.95</label> </div><div class="form-item form-item-attributes-1 form-type-radio radio"> <label class="control-label" for="edit-attributes-1-2"><input type="radio" id="edit-attributes-1-2" name="attributes[1]" value="2" class="form-radio" />Ebook (PDF, Mobi, and ePub), $39.95</label> </div></div></div></div></div><input type="hidden" name="qty" value="1" /> <input type="hidden" name="form_build_id" value="form-0P6UsFOSICdr_ut6VqxeZSkP1jwj7taLbMOxW3rVc2U" /> <input type="hidden" name="form_id" value="uc_product_add_to_cart_form_503" /> <div class="form-actions form-wrapper form-group" id="edit-actions"><button class="node-add-to-cart btn btn-success form-submit icon-before" type="submit" id="edit-submit-503" name="op" value="Add to cart"><span class="icon glyphicon glyphicon-plus" aria-hidden="true"></span> Add to cart</button> </div></div></form></div><div class="field field-name-product-menu field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="menu-wrapper"><ul class="menu nav"><li><a href="#content">Contents</a></li><li><a href="#reviews">Reviews</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><b>Look Inside!</b></p> <div class="lookinside" style="clear:none;"> <a href="/images/Autotools2e_back.jpg" class="colorbox"><img src="/images/Autotools2e_back_thumb.jpg" title="Back Cover" alt="Autotools, Second Edition" style="border:1px solid; margin:5px; width:78px; height:102px;" /></a><a href="/images/Autotools2eIN01.jpg" class="colorbox"><img src="/images/Autotools2eIN01.jpg" title="Autotest Overview" alt="Autotools, Second Edition" style="border:1px solid; margin:5px; height:102px;" /></a><a href="/images/Autotools2eIN02.jpg" class="colorbox"><img src="/images/Autotools2eIN02.jpg" title="Finding Build Dependencies" alt="Autotools, Second Edition" style="border:1px solid; margin:5px; width:78px; height:102px; object-fit:cover;" /></a><a href="/images/Autotools2eIN03.jpg" class="colorbox"><img src="/images/Autotools2eIN03.jpg" title="Adding Gnulib" alt="Autotools, Second Edition" style="border:1px solid; margin:5px; height:102px;" /></a> </div> <style> <![CDATA[/* ><!]]>*/ </style><p> <a href="/download/samples/Autotools2e_Sample_Ch2.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-success downloadbutton" style="font-weight: 400;">Download Chapter 2: A Brief Introduction to the GNU Autotools</a></p> <p>The GNU Autotools make it easy for developers to create software that is portable across many Unix-like operating systems, and even Windows. Although the Autotools are used by thousands of open source software packages, they have a notoriously steep learning curve.</p> <p>Autotools is the first book to offer programmers a tutorial-based guide to the GNU build system. Author John Calcote begins with an overview of high-level concepts and a hands-on tour of the philosophy and design of the Autotools. He then tackles more advanced details, like using the M4 macro processor with Autoconf, extending the framework provided by Automake, and building Java and C# sources. He concludes with solutions to frequent problems encountered by Autotools users.</p> <p>This thoroughly revised second edition has been updated to cover the latest versions of the Autotools. It includes five new chapters on topics like pkg-config, unit and integration testing with Autotest, internationalizing with GNU tools, the portability of gnulib, and using the Autotools with Windows. As with the first edition, you'll focus on two projects: Jupiter, a simple “Hello, world!” program, and FLAIM, an existing, complex open source effort containing four separate but interdependent projects. Follow along as the author takes Jupiter’s build system from a basic makefile to a full-fledged Autotools project, and then as he converts the FLAIM projects from complex, hand-coded makefiles to the powerful and flexible GNU build system.</p> <p>Learn how to:</p> <ul> <li>Master the Autotools build system to maximize your software’s portability </li><li>Generate Autoconf configuration scripts to simplify the compilation process </li><li>Produce portable makefiles with Automake </li><li>Build cross-platform software libraries with Libtool </li><li>Write your own Autoconf macros </li></ul> <p>This detailed introduction to the GNU Autotools is indispensable for developers and programmers looking to gain a deeper understanding of this complex suite of tools. Stop fighting against the system and make sense of it all with the second edition of <i>Autotools</i>!</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author-bio field-type-text-long field-label-abovec"><div class="field-label">Author Bio </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><b>John Calcote</b> is currently a senior software engineer at Hammerspace.com, a software company specializing in cloud data management. He has been writing portable networking and storage software for over 25 years and is active in developing, debugging, and analyzing diverse open-source software packages.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-toc field-type-text-long field-label-abovec" id="content"><div class="field-label">Table of contents </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="/download/samples/Autotools2e_Sample_Intro.pdf" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:underline;">Introduction</a></p> <p><b>Chapter 1:</b> An End User’s Perspective on the GNU Autotools<br /> <a href="/download/samples/Autotools2e_Sample_Ch2.pdf" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:underline;"><b>Chapter 2:</b> A Brief Introduction to the GNU Autotools</a><br /> <b>Chapter 3:</b> Understanding the GNU Coding Standards<br /> <b>Chapter 4:</b> Configuring Your Project with Autoconf<br /> <b>Chapter 5:</b> More Fun with Autoconf: Configuring User Options<br /> <b>Chapter 6:</b> Automatic Makefiles with Automake<br /> <b>Chapter 7:</b> Building Libraries with Libtool<br /> <b>Chapter 8:</b> Library Interface Versioning and Runtime Dynamic Linking<br /> <b>Chapter 9:</b> Unit Interpretation Testing with Autotest<br /> <b>Chapter 10:</b> Finding Building Dependencies with pkg-config<br /> <b>Chapter 11:</b> Internalization<br /> <b>Chapter 12:</b> Localization<br /> <b>Chapter 13:</b> Maximum Portability with Gnulib<br /> <b>Chapter 14:</b> FLAIM: An Autotools Example<br /> <b>Chapter 15:</b> FLAIM Part II: Pushing the Envelope<br /> <b>Chapter 16:</b> Using the M4 Macro Processor with Autoconf<br /> <b>Chapter 17:</b> Using Autotools with Windows<br /> <b>Chapter 18:</b> A Catalog of Tips and Reusable Solutions for Creating Great Projects</p> <p><a href="/download/samples/Autotools2e_Sample_ToC.pdf" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:underline;"><b>View the detailed Table of Contents</b></a><br /> <a href="/download/samples/Autotools2e_Sample_Index.pdf" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:underline;"><b>View the Index</b></a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-reviews field-type-text-long field-label-abovec" id="reviews"><div class="field-label">Reviews </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>"In my opinion you will find no better introduction to this complex subject."<br /> —<b>Slashdot</b> (<a href="http://books.slashdot.org/story/10/09/27/1612236/Autotools" target="new">Read More</a>)</p> <p>“If you’re a newcomer who wants to know how it works behind the scenes in detail, you just have to read it.”<br /> —<b>Flameeyes's Weblog</b> (<a href="https://flameeyes.blog/2010/08/20/book-review-autotools-by-john-calcote/" target="new">Read More</a>)</p> </div></div></div> </div> </div> </section> <section id="block-shariff-shariff-block" class="block block-shariff clearfix"> <div class="shariff" data-services="["facebook","print","twitter"]" data-theme="colored" data-orientation="horizontal" data-twitter-via="nostarch" data-lang="en"></div> </section> </div> </section> <aside class="col-sm-3" role="complementary"> <div class="region region-sidebar-second"> <section id="block-system-navigation" class="block block-system block-menu clearfix"> <h2 class="block-title">Navigation</h2> <ul class="menu nav"><li class="first last leaf"><a href="/user" title="">My account</a></li> </ul> </section> <section id="block-block-52" class="block block-block clearfix"> <p><a href="/mailchimp/subscribe">Want sweet deals? <br />Sign up for our newsletter.</a></p> </section> <section id="block-views-related-products-block" class="block block-views clearfix"> <h2 class="block-title">You might also like...</h2> <div class="view view-related-products view-id-related_products view-display-id-block auto-clear view-dom-id-475e77323c4a93111286d0efedffab1b"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first col-xs-6 col-sm-6 col-md-12"> <div class="views-field views-field-field-image-cache"> <div class="field-content"><a href="/html5game"><img class="img-responsive" src="https://nostarch.com/sites/default/files/styles/product/public/html5_cover-front_FINAL.png?itok=7qccwNbn" width="90" height="119" alt="Build an HTML5 Game" title="Build an HTML5 Game" /></a></div> </div> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-2 views-row-even col-xs-6 col-sm-6 col-md-12"> <div class="views-field views-field-field-image-cache"> <div class="field-content"><a href="/introduction-system-programming-linux"><img class="img-responsive" src="https://nostarch.com/sites/default/files/styles/product/public/IntroSysProgLinux_placeholder_0.png?itok=aiYYgDnS" width="90" height="119" alt="Introduction to System Programming in Linux placeholder cover" title="Introduction to System Programming in Linux placeholder cover" /></a></div> </div> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-3 views-row-odd col-xs-6 col-sm-6 col-md-12"> <div class="views-field views-field-field-image-cache"> <div class="field-content"><a href="/effective-shell"><img class="img-responsive" src="https://nostarch.com/sites/default/files/styles/product/public/Effective%20Shell_frontcover.png?itok=oVRAUGwI" width="90" height="119" alt="Effective Shell placeholder cover" title="Effective Shell placeholder cover" /></a></div> </div> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-4 views-row-even col-xs-6 col-sm-6 col-md-12"> <div class="views-field views-field-field-image-cache"> <div class="field-content"><a href="/Learn-Python-Visually"><img class="img-responsive" src="https://nostarch.com/sites/default/files/styles/product/public/learn-python-visually_frontcover.png?itok=WO1kinJg" width="90" height="119" alt="Learn Python Visually Front Cover" title="Learn Python Visually Front Cover" /></a></div> </div> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-5 views-row-odd col-xs-6 col-sm-6 col-md-12"> <div class="views-field views-field-field-image-cache"> <div class="field-content"><a href="/gimp"><img class="img-responsive" src="https://nostarch.com/sites/default/files/styles/product/public/bookofgimp.png?itok=MfFqerI6" width="90" height="119" alt="The Book of GIMP" title="The Book of GIMP" /></a></div> </div> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-6 views-row-even views-row-last col-xs-6 col-sm-6 col-md-12"> <div class="views-field views-field-field-image-cache"> <div class="field-content"><a href="/codecraft"><img class="img-responsive" src="https://nostarch.com/sites/default/files/styles/product/public/codecraft_big.jpg?itok=gB8GzOlB" width="90" height="119" alt="Code Craft" title="Code Craft" /></a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </section> </div> </aside>  </div> </div> <footer class="footer container"> <div class="region region-footer"> <section id="block-block-16" class="block block-block clearfix"> <div id="footer-links"> <br> <a class="footer-links" href="/about.htm">About Us</a>  <span class="footer-divider">|</span>  <a class="footer-links" href="/Jobs.htm">Jobs!</a>  <span class="footer-divider">|</span>  <a class="footer-links" href="/distribution.htm">Sales and Distribution</a>  <span class="footer-divider">|</span>  <a class="footer-links" href="/rights">Rights</a>  <span class="footer-divider">|</span>  <a class="footer-links" href="/media.htm">Media</a>  <span class="footer-divider">|</span>  <a class="footer-links" href="/academic.htm">Academic Requests</a>  <span class="footer-divider">|</span>  <a class="footer-links" href="/conferences.htm">Conferences</a>  <span class="footer-divider">|</span>  <a class="footer-links" href="/orderfaq.htm">FAQ</a>  <span class="footer-divider">|</span>  <a class="footer-links" href="/contactus">Contact Us</a>  <span class="footer-divider">|</span>  <a class="footer-links" href="/writeforus">Write for Us</a>  <span class="footer-divider">|</span>  <a class="footer-links" href="/privacypolicy.htm">Privacy</a> </div> </section> <section id="block-nostarch-custom-custom-footer-copyright" class="block block-nostarch-custom clearfix"> <div class="block-block"> <p>Copyright 2025. No Starch Press, Inc</p> </div> </section> </div> </footer> <script src="https://nostarch.com/sites/all/modules/contrib/addthis/addthis.js?stn5l0"></script> <script src="https://nostarch.com/sites/all/libraries/shariff/shariff.min.js?stn5l0"></script> <script src="https://nostarch.com/sites/all/themes/contrib/bootstrap/js/bootstrap.js?stn5l0"></script>  <script> !function(w,d){if(!w.rdt){var p=w.rdt=function(){p.sendEvent?p.sendEvent.apply(p,arguments):p.callQueue.push(arguments)};p.callQueue=[];var t=d.createElement("script");t.src="https://www.redditstatic.com/ads/pixel.js",t.async=!0;var s=d.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}}(window,document);rdt('init','t2_6acpsf9y');rdt('track', 'PageVisit'); </script>   <script>(function(){function c(){var b=a.contentDocument||a.contentWindow.document;if(b){var d=b.createElement('script');d.innerHTML="window.__CF$cv$params={r:'92aa8e6eab13f908',t:'MTc0MzcwNDE4MC4wMDAwMDA='};var a=document.createElement('script');a.nonce='';a.src='/cdn-cgi/challenge-platform/scripts/jsd/main.js';document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(a);";b.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(d)}}if(document.body){var a=document.createElement('iframe');a.height=1;a.width=1;a.style.position='absolute';a.style.top=0;a.style.left=0;a.style.border='none';a.style.visibility='hidden';document.body.appendChild(a);if('loading'!==document.readyState)c();else if(window.addEventListener)document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded',c);else{var e=document.onreadystatechange||function(){};document.onreadystatechange=function(b){e(b);'loading'!==document.readyState&&(document.onreadystatechange=e,c())}}}})();</script></body> </html>