I subscribed to take the chance and let everybody know (because it seems that I'm the first one to do this) that
autoconf
is a hugh, bloated piece of inconsistend, wet-script-kiddy-dream of a fucked up and incompatible and hopelessly underdocumented piece of brain crap that ever happened to enter my life.
Read the Goat Book http://sources.redhat.com/autobook/ and you, too, will be enlightened. ;)
cheers, dalibor topic