autoconf - checking for programs/locations used during installation

Question

Should configure check for programs used to install files (such as unzip for example), or is that the job of the Makefile? The same applies for directory existence - should configure check that a user-defined directory actually exists (for example, to enable a certain feature of the program which needs to install files into a different location)? Both of these are install-time checks, but automake doesn't seem to have any capabilities to do this, only autoconf.

Answer 1

It's configures job to do system discovery tasks. If you need unzip for a customized install step, configure should discover it or be directed to it (e.g. via AC_ARG_VAR). Enabling features is IMO better handled by AC_ARG_WITH or AC_ARG_ENABLE, because you can always create the directory as part of make install. But if you'd rather check for the existence of the directory, configure is the place to do it.