Dictionary.net

The GNU project's tool that configures asource code distribution to compile and run on a differentplatform.Among open source hackers, a mere running binary of aprogram is not considered a full release; what's interestingis a source tree that can be built into binaries usingstandard tools. Since the mid-1990s, autoconf, automake,and libtools have been the standard way to make adistribution portable so that it can be built on multipleoperating systems without change.