configure.info: Building

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Building

   Most readers of this document should already know how to build a
tool by running `configure' and `make'.  This section may serve as a
quick introduction or reminder.
   Building a tool is normally as simple as running `configure'
followed by `make'.  You should normally run `configure' from an empty
directory, using some path to refer to the `configure' script in the
source directory.  The directory in which you run `configure' is called
the "object directory".
   In order to use a object directory which is different from the source
directory, you must be using the GNU version of `make', which has the
required `VPATH' support.  Despite this restriction, using a different
object directory is highly recommended:
   * It keeps the files generated during the build from cluttering up
     your sources.
   * It permits you to remove the built files by simply removing the
     entire build directory.
   * It permits you to build from the same sources with several sets of
     configure options simultaneously.
   If you don't have GNU `make', you will have to run `configure' in
the source directory.  All GNU packages should support this; in
particular, GNU packages should not assume the presence of GNU `make'.
   After running `configure', you can build the tools by running `make'.
   To install the tools, run `make install'.  Installing the tools will
copy the programs and any required support files to the "installation
directory".  The location of the installation directory is controlled
by `configure' options, as described below.
   In the Cygnus tree at present, the info files are built and
installed as a separate step.  To build them, run `make info'.  To
install them, run `make install-info'.
   All `configure' scripts support a wide variety of options.  The most
interesting ones are `--with' and `--enable' options which are
generally specific to particular tools.  You can usually use the
`--help' option to get a list of interesting options for a particular
configure script.
   The only generic options you are likely to use are the `--prefix'
and `--exec-prefix' options.  These options are used to specify the
installation directory.
   The directory named by the `--prefix' option will hold machine
independent files such as info files.
   The directory named by the `--exec-prefix' option, which is normally
a subdirectory of the `--prefix' directory, will hold machine dependent
files such as executables.
   The default for `--prefix' is `/usr/local'.  The default for
`--exec-prefix' is the value used for `--prefix'.
   The convention used in Cygnus releases is to use a `--prefix' option
of `/usr/cygnus/RELEASE', where RELEASE is the name of the release, and
to use a `--exec-prefix' option of `/usr/cygnus/RELEASE/H-HOST', where
HOST is the configuration name of the host system (*note Configuration
Names::).
   Do not use either the source or the object directory as the
installation directory.  That will just lead to confusion.