Automake
Automake is a GNU tool that automatically generates `Makefile.in` files from `Makefile.am` files. It simplifies the process of writing portable Makefiles, adhering to GNU coding standards, and works in conjunction with Autoconf to create a complete build system for cross-platform software projects.
Key facts
- First appeared
- 1994
- Category
- technology
- Problem solved
- Automake was created to abstract away the complexities of writing portable and standards-compliant `Makefiles`. Before Automake, developers struggled with manually maintaining complex conditional logic in `Makefiles` to support different operating systems, compilers, and library installations, leading to significant build system fragmentation and maintenance overhead.
- Platforms
- OpenBSD, Solaris, GNU/Linux, FreeBSD, HP-UX, macOS, AIX, Windows (via Cygwin or MinGW/MSYS2)
Related technologies
Notable users
- Various Linux distributions (for packaging and compiling core system components)
- GNU Project (for most of its core utilities and libraries)
- Many open-source projects built with Autotools