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(autoconf.info)Subdirectories

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Configuring Other Packages in Subdirectories
============================================

   In most situations, calling `AC_OUTPUT' is sufficient to produce
`Makefile's in subdirectories.  However, `configure' scripts that
control more than one independent package can use `AC_CONFIG_SUBDIRS'
to run `configure' scripts for other packages in subdirectories.

 - Macro: AC_CONFIG_SUBDIRS (DIR ...)
     Make `AC_OUTPUT' run `configure' in each subdirectory DIR in the
     given whitespace-separated list.  Each DIR should be a literal,
     i.e., please do not use:

          if test "$package_foo_enabled" = yes; then
            $my_subdirs="$my_subdirs foo"
          fi
          AC_CONFIG_SUBDIRS($my_subdirs)

     because this prevents `./configure --help=recursive' from
     displaying the options of the package `foo'.  Rather, you should
     write:

          if test "$package_foo_enabled" = yes; then
            AC_CONFIG_SUBDIRS(foo)
          fi

     If a given DIR is not found, an error is reported: if the
     subdirectory is optional, write:

          if test -d $srcdir/foo; then
            AC_CONFIG_SUBDIRS(foo)
          fi

     If a given DIR contains `configure.gnu', it is run instead of
     `configure'. This is for packages that might use a non-autoconf
     script `Configure', which can't be called through a wrapper
     `configure' since it would be the same file on case-insensitive
     filesystems. Likewise, if a DIR contains `configure.ac' but no
     `configure', the Cygnus `configure' script found by
     `AC_CONFIG_AUX_DIR' is used.

     The subdirectory `configure' scripts are given the same command
     line options that were given to this `configure' script, with minor
     changes if needed, which include:

        - adjusting a relative path for the cache file;

        - adjusting a relative path for the source directory;

        - propagating the current value of `$prefix', including if it
          was defaulted, and if default values of the top level and of
          sub directory `configure' differ.

     This macro also sets the output variable `subdirs' to the list of
     directories `DIR ...'.  `Makefile' rules can use this variable to
     determine which subdirectories to recurse into.  This macro may be
     called multiple times.