Need help with cleaning up a working GNU Autotools setup 5057

Please QUOTE. I can't recall what you are talking about.

What did I suggest? Surely only use of VPATH.

Eh? Why not? I didn't specify the target, and if I did, you can surely see that you can name any target in the call to make,

I don't understand - when compiling outside the source directory, ne mormally makes a buildsubdir, cds there, then runs ..-configure there in orser to make a Makefile. Then one runs make against that Makefile, with VPATH set to the surce directory.

So what is your comment about autoconf? You run autconf when you set up the code for distribution, in order that customers receive it with a .-configure already built.

I don't understand. Nobody is talking abut "adding parts".

I don't know what environment you want! but I have described for you how to compile outside the source tree, and I do not understand what you are talking about autotools for. It is your own business how you make the .-configure file that makes the Makefiles that you will use for the make in the build dir. A look at a code of mine that builds in places of its own choosing shows the makefile has:

all: build

build: $(BUILD)-.done

$(BUILD)-.done: ... set up build area ...

The setup will include in your case making a .-configure and running it! It's none of my business how you go about that.

Peter