autoconf.info: Configuration Files

Creating Configuration Files

Be sure to read the previous section, *Note Configuration Actions::.

 - Macro: AC_CONFIG_FILES (FILE..., [CMDS], [INIT-CMDS])
     Make `AC_OUTPUT' create each `FILE' by copying an input file (by
     default `FILE.in'), substituting the output variable values.  This
     macro is one of the instantiating macros; see *Note Configuration
     Actions::.  *Note Makefile Substitutions::, for more information
     on using output variables.  *Note Setting Output Variables::, for
     more information on creating them.  This macro creates the
     directory that the file is in if it doesn't exist.  Usually,
     `Makefile's are created this way, but other files, such as
     `.gdbinit', can be specified as well.

     Typical calls to `AC_CONFIG_FILES' look like this:

          AC_CONFIG_FILES([Makefile src/Makefile man/Makefile X/Imakefile])
          AC_CONFIG_FILES([autoconf], [chmod +x autoconf])

     You can override an input file name by appending to FILE a
     colon-separated list of input files.  Examples:

          AC_CONFIG_FILES([Makefile:boiler/top.mk:boiler/bot.mk]
                          [lib/Makefile:boiler/lib.mk])

     Doing this allows you to keep your file names acceptable to
     MS-DOS, or to prepend and/or append boilerplate to the file.