Autoconf 1.0 Release

David MacKenzie released the first version of Autoconf, a set of M4 macros designed to generate portable configure scripts, fundamentally changing how free software handled system dependencies.

Significance

This release marked the birth of automated software configuration, providing a crucial tool for the GNU Project and the wider open-source community to make their software universally compilable.

Key facts

Year
1991
Type
release
Location
Global (Internet release)