Setting up auto conf

[Dan Smithers]

Hi,

I have a project that I want to convert to autoconf and I'm looking for
a guide on how to set it up.

The project is made up of some libraries and related executables. It
needs to be built for several different architectures including Linux
2.4, Linux 2.6, Win XP and embedded.

My goal is to be able to set up parallel debug and release builds for
the different architectures. I would like to be able to build and link
without having to "install" until I'm happy with the work.

I would also like to be able to build the complete project from the top
level and also build sub-projects individually.

I think that autotools will be able to do all this, but get a bit
puzzled from time to time.

I would also like to avoid having auto-generatable files in revision
control as much as possible. What are the minimum files needed for this?

the project structure is

my_proj/build_<arch>_<debug>
       /configure.in
       /Makefile.in
       /Makefile.am
       /sub_proj1/configure.in
                 /Makefile.in
                 /Makefile.am
                 /src/Makefile.in
                     /Makefile.am
       /sub_proj2/configure.in
                 /Makefile.in
                 /Makefile.am
                 /src/Makefile.in
                     /Makefile.am
       /sub_lib1/configure.in
                /Makefile.in
                /Makefile.am
                /src/Makefile.in
                    /Makefile.am
       /sub_lib2/configure.in
                /Makefile.in
                /Makefile.am
                /src/Makefile.in
                    /Makefile.am

Sometimes it seems to use Makefile.in and others Makefile.am. What is
the difference? and can I set it to use the same skeleton file for all uses?

thanks

dan