configure.info: Goals

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Goals

   The GNU configure and build system has two main goals.
   The first is to simplify the development of portable programs.  The
system permits the developer to concentrate on writing the program,
simplifying many details of portability across Unix and even Windows
systems, and permitting the developer to describe how to build the
program using simple rules rather than complex Makefiles.
   The second is to simplify the building of programs distributed as
source code.  All programs are built using a simple, standardized, two
step process.  The program builder need not install any special tools in
order to build the program.