How to update m4, autoconf, automake and libtool properly? Mac OSX

Question

Hej everyone,

I'm trying to update my autoconf since I need version 2.62 or newer and Mac OSX 10.6.8 only provides the old 2.61. (Eventuall, I am trying to install the SAGA-GIS API).

I followed these instructions: http://www.mattvsworld.com/blog/2010/02/install-the-latest-autoconf-and-automake-on-mac-os-10-6/

But: Whenever I work these steps through, nothing is done.

make  install-recursive
Making install in .
make[5]: Nothing to be done for `install-exec-am'.
make[5]: Nothing to be done for `install-data-am'.

I installed the tools in usr/bin since this is where the old tool lay. Is this correct?

Thanks for your support, I really need this SAGA-GIS but these tools should be up to date anyway, I guess!

Answer 1

You should use macports as this provides a easy to use interface that can be updated pretty much like a FreeBSD distro, using a single command.

You shouldn't install into /usr/bin; that's a very bad idea; instead use /usr/local (macports actually uses /opt/local) and just ensure that your $PATH has /usr/local/bin:/opt/local/bin:/usr/bin so your newer versions are used instead.