Autoconf vs GNU Make

Struggling to choose between Autoconf and GNU Make? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

Autoconf is a Development solution with tags like configuration, portability, automation.

It boasts features such as Portability, Extensibility, Automatic dependency tracking, Support for conditional compilation, Built-in caching, Macro language and pros including Makes software portable across Unix-like systems, Allows customization through macros, Automates tedious configuration tasks, Avoids manual editing of configuration files, Reuses previous configuration results.

On the other hand, GNU Make is a Development product tagged with build, automation, make, compiler.

Its standout features include Dependency tracking - Automatically determines dependencies between files, Parallel builds - Can build independent targets simultaneously, Built-in functions - Many built-in functions for common build tasks, Recursive builds - Can build targets in subdirectories recursively, Pattern rules - General rules can be applied based on pattern matching, Conditionals - Supports if/else conditionals in makefiles, and it shines with pros like Widely used and well-supported, Mature and stable, Powerful dependency tracking, Built-in parallelism, Portable across platforms, Integrates well with other tools.

Feature	Autoconf	GNU Make
Overall Score	N/A	N/A
Primary Category	Development	Development

Product Overview

Autoconf

Description: Autoconf is an extensible package of M4 macros that produce shell scripts to automatically configure software source code packages. It can adapt the software to many kinds of Unix-like systems without manual user intervention.

GNU Make

Description: GNU Make is a utility that automatically builds executable programs and libraries from source code by reading files called Makefiles which specify how to derive the target program. It allows users to easily compile large projects without manually issuing the compilation commands.

Key Features Comparison

Autoconf Features

• Portability
• Extensibility
• Automatic dependency tracking
• Support for conditional compilation
• Built-in caching
• Macro language

GNU Make Features

• Dependency tracking - Automatically determines dependencies between files
• Parallel builds - Can build independent targets simultaneously
• Built-in functions - Many built-in functions for common build tasks
• Recursive builds - Can build targets in subdirectories recursively
• Pattern rules - General rules can be applied based on pattern matching
• Conditionals - Supports if/else conditionals in makefiles

Pros & Cons Analysis

Autoconf

Pros

• Makes software portable across Unix-like systems
• Allows customization through macros
• Automates tedious configuration tasks
• Avoids manual editing of configuration files
• Reuses previous configuration results

Cons

• Complex macro language has steep learning curve
• Hard to debug issues
• Can produce convoluted configuration scripts
• Limited support on non-Unix platforms

GNU Make

Pros

• Widely used and well-supported
• Mature and stable
• Powerful dependency tracking
• Built-in parallelism
• Portable across platforms
• Integrates well with other tools

Cons

• Cryptic syntax
• Difficult for complex builds
• Only rebuilds out-of-date targets
• Not suitable for all project types
• Limited to makefile build process

Pricing Comparison

Autoconf

• Open Source

GNU Make

• Open Source