What's in a Makefile.am File?
In Chapter 3 we discussed how Autoconf accepts as input a shell script sprinkled with M4 macros, and then generates the same shell script with those macros fully expanded. Likewise, Automake accepts as input a makefile sprinkled with Automake commands. Just as Autoconf's input files are simply enhanced shell scripts, Automake Makefile.am files are nothing more than standard makefiles with additional Automake-specific syntax.
One significant difference between Autoconf and Automake is that the only text Autoconf outputs is the existing shell script in the input file and any additional shell script resulting from the expansion of embedded M4 macros. Automake, on the other hand, assumes that all makefiles should contain ...
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