$/!\$ Warning:
While these guidelines are still useful, you migth consider switching to meson instead.
See Initiatives/GnomeGoals/MesonPorting for more details

GNOME Goal: Modernize your autotools configuration

Introduction

Autotools is the most common system to build programs in GNOME project.

Remove deprecated macros from our configure.ac files and use the new syntax will do our build system more legible and portable

Some useful guides:

Autotools tutorial
Introduction, building and using C/C++ libraries with autotools (Openismus documents).
Autotools Mythbuster
Autotools: a practitioner's guide to Autoconf, Automake and Libtool (complete and detailed guide)

Reference documentation:

Guidelines

The Autotools comes with a program to make the work for us, simply run

autoupdate
autoscan

in your source tree and you have a new updated configure.ac, plus a list of macros it recommends you use (due to dependencies needing them). (Check the result for possible errors.)

Some more tips:

Remove use of gnome-common in your module: use autoconf-archive macros instead, and simplify your autogen.sh according to the instructions on Projects/GnomeCommon/Migration.
Remove any version check in the autogen.sh file if the version in autogen <= version in configure.ac:

The check in autogen.sh is usually done to try and find the "best" version. The version number passed to AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE(), AC_PREREQ()... is a minimum requirement which causes Automake to abort if not fulfilled, so if the autogen.sh script only checks for a minimum version without trying to select between different binaries, then it is superfluous

Respect the standard configure.ac layout
Try to avoid the use of AM_MAINTAINER_MODE. AM_MAINTAINER_MODE (called like that) disables dependency-checking for autotools-generated stuff. AM_MAINTAINER_MODE([enable]) retains the default behavior, but lets users pass a configure option to disable the dependency checking. AM_MAINTAINER_MODE([enable]) has none of the disadvantages of AM_MAINTAINER_MODE and all of the advantages. So, if you want this macro, use you should use AM_MAINTAINER_MODE([enable]). See the automake manual for a extended explanation.
Do not use GNOME_COMMON_INIT, as it does not work with autoreconf. Simply add this to your Makefile.am. You have to define the macros dir in your configure.ac, in this case: AC_CONFIG_MACRO_DIR([m4])
Use all the parameters of AC_INIT(), (for the fifth parameter you need autoconf >= 2.64, although it is harmless for older autoconf versions):

AC_INIT([Glom],[1.13.2],[https://bugzilla.gnome.org/enter_bug.cgi?product=Glom],[glom],[http://www.glom.org/])

Use updated versions of the programs (all of these versions (and newer) are present in Debian stable):
- automake >= 1.11.1 (AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE([1.11.1])) (Automake 1.10 and 1.11 are known to be suffering from critical security issues)
- autoconf >= 2.64 (AC_PREREQ(2.64))
- libtool >= 2.2.6 (LT_PREREQ([2.2.6]))
- intltool >= 0.50.1 (IT_PROG_INTLTOOL([0.50.1])) (which has support for GSettings, GtkBuilder, etc.)
Use LT_INIT() syntax for libtool (needs libtool >= 2.2.0). More info about LT_INIT(). For example, change this:

AC_LIBTOOL_DLOPEN
AC_LIBTOOL_WIN32_DLL
AC_DISABLE_STATIC
AM_PROG_LIBTOOL

to this

LT_PREREQ([2.2.6])
LT_INIT([dlopen win32-dll disable-static])

Take a look at all AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE() possible parameters.

AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE([1.11 no-dist-gzip dist-bzip2])

If any path in the tarball exceeds 99 characters, you need to add the tar-ustar (or tar-pax) automake option; otherwise tarballs will be corrupted.
It's been proposed to use version 1.11.1 of automake and generate xz distribution tarballs instead using the dist-xz option, because of the much better compresion ratio.
ChPe: dist-xz creates an unnessary dependency on automake 1.11, since most people want only to build the module, not create a tarball. Also, there is no need to use 1.11.1 specifically since, again, the .1 is only relevant for {make dist.
BastienNocera: We should consider using "tar-pax" as the default tar, see bug 645830 for details.
- ChPe: Usually, tar-ustar is enough, and the automake manual says it is more portable.
  - OlavVitters: tar-pax doesn't work on OpenBSD. Must use tar-ustar.

MatthiasClasen: This goal should be updated to cover working with automake 1.12.
Use ''autoconf-archive'' macros instead of gnome-common. See the gnome-common migration guide for more information on porting away from gnome-common.
- AX_IS_RELEASE() to determine whether to enable release features or disable debug features.
- AX_COMPILER_FLAGS() instead of custom flags handling or GNOME_COMPILE_WARNINGS. Then add the $(WARN_CFLAGS) variable to CFLAGS, the $(WARN_LDFLAGS) variable to LDFLAGS, and $(WARN_SCANNERFLAGS) to *_SCANNERFLAGS for each generated GIR file.
- AX_CHECK_ENABLE_DEBUG() instead of GNOME_DEBUG_CHECK.
- AX_CODE_COVERAGE() instead of GNOME_CODE_COVERAGE.
Additional autoconf-archive macros that should be used:
- AX_VALGRIND_CHECK() instead of custom Valgrind handling code for running tests under.
- AX_PKG_CHECK_MODULES() instead of normal PKG_CHECK_MODULES() when building libraries, as it simplifies handling of public vs private dependencies for listing in generated pkg-config .pc files.
Use AM_SILENT_RULES([yes]) to get a pretty Kbuild-like output
- See https://wiki.gnome.org/Initiatives/GnomeGoals/NicerBuilds

Other tips

Ship tarballs with all sources and generated files included.
Do not run autoreconf/autogen.sh during builds.
Do not exploit autotools's internals.

Comments before approval

Add your comments to this goal proposal here

While I agree that removal of AM_MAINTAINER_MODE is right, the debian maintainers seem to disagree (see e.g. 450450 and 532550). So this part should be discussed on ddl first. ChPe

Presumably the (new?) recommendation to use AM_MAINTAINER_MODE([enable]) deals with that? MurrayCumming

ChPe: I must object to the recommendation to just bump the required autoconf/automake/etc versions. What good does that do? If it works with the e.g. automake 1.9, there really is no need to require 1.11.1 ! IMHO we should only bump the required versions where we use new features that aren't available in the older version. We should not make it unnecessarily hard to build on older systems.

ChPe: Also, why is this goal being silently implemented by filing bugs against various Gnome components with references to this page, when right at the top of this page it says that this is only a proposed goal and should not be implemented before being officially approved?

Sebastian: In my autogen.sh skript the maintainer mode flag is also passed the the configure script like ./configure --enable-maintainer-mode "$@" should that parameter be removed too? This goal should mention how this case is to be handled.

SébastienWilmet: Maybe the migration from gnome-common to autoconf-archive should be a separated goal? The previous items are already done in a lot of modules I think, some bugs were already filed and fixed so if we add more items it's more difficult to keep track of which modules are done. And if items are indefinitely added to this goal it'll never be done.

Status of this goal

Tip: If you choose to work on a module, create the bug report on the GNOME bugzilla for the relevant module, and make it block bug <<insert here a link to the tracker bug>>. This way people will know someone already works on it, and won't duplicate the work you're doing.

State	Markup
todo	`<: #ff8080> todo`
patch	`<: #ffcc50> [[GnomeBug:xxxxx\|patch]]`
done	`<: #80ff80> [[GnomeBug:xxxxx\|done]]`
not needed	`<: #80ff80> not needed`

Above are the states and corresponding markup to update the modules state table below. Note that the states were reset on 2015-01-30 due to the goal being significantly updated. Modules which were previously ‘done’ are now ‘wip’.

This list should also be updated for all current git modules.

Tarball	Status
Desktop
alacarte	to do
brasero	done
bug-buddy	to do
cheese	to do
dasher	to do
deskbar-applet	to do
ekiga	to do
empathy	to do
eog	to do
epiphany	to do
evince	to do
evolution-data-server	to do
evolution	to do
evolution-exchange	to do
evolution-mapi	to do
evolution-webcal	to do
file-roller	to do
gcalctool	to do
gconf-editor	to do
gdm	to do
gedit	wip
gnome-applets	to do
gnome-backgrounds	to do
gnome-bluetooth	to do
gnome-control-center	to do
gnome-desktop	to do
gnome-desktop-sharp	to do
gnome-disk-utility	patch
gnome-doc-utils	to do
gnome-games	to do
gnome-icon-theme	to do
gnome-keyring	to do
gnome-netstatus	to do
gnome-nettool	wip
gnome-mag	to do
gnome-media	to do
gnome-menus	to do
gnome-packagekit	to do
gnome-panel	to do
gnome-power-manager	to do
gnome-python-desktop	to do
gnome-screensaver	to do
gnome-session	to do
gnome-settings-daemon	to do
gnome-sharp	to do
gnome-speech	to do
gnome-system-monitor	to do
gnome-system-tools	to do
gnome-terminal	to do
gnome-themes	to do
gnome-user-docs	to do
gnome-user-share	to do
gnome-utils	to do
gok	to do
gstreamer	to do
gst-plugins-base	to do
gst-plugins-good	to do
gtk-engines	to do
gtkhtml	to do
gtksourceview	done
gucharmap	to do
gvfs	to do
hamster-applet	to do
libgail-gnome	to do
libgnomekbd	to do
libgtop	to do
libgweather	to do
liboobs	to do
librsvg	to do
libsoup	to do
libwnck	to do
metacity	to do
mousetweaks	to do
nautilus	to do
nautilus-sendto	to do
orca	to do
pygtksourceview	to do
seahorse	to do
sound-juicer	to do
swfdec-gnome	to do
tomboy	to do
totem	to do
totem-pl-parser	to do
vinagre	done
vino	done
vte	to do
yelp	to do
zenity	to do
Platform
GConf	to do
at-spi	to do
atk	to do
glib	to do
gtk+	to do
gtk-doc	to do
pango	to do
Admin
pessulus	to do
sabayon	to do
Development Tools
accerciser	to do
anjuta	to do
devhelp	to do
gdl	to do
glade3	wip
gnome-devel-docs	to do
Bindings (C++)
glibmm	not needed
pangomm	not needed
gtkmm	not needed
libglademm	to do
gconfmm	not needed
libgnomecanvasmm	to do
libgnome-vfsmm	to do
libgnomemm	to do
libgnomeuimm	to do
libxml++	not needed
Bindings (java)
glib-java (jg-common)	to do
libgtk-java	to do
libgnome-java	to do
libgconf-java	to do
libglade-java	to do
Bindings (JavaScript)
gjs	patch
seed	to do
Bindings (mono)
gtk-sharp	to do
Bindings (perl)
Glib	to do
Gtk2	to do
Gtk2-GladeXML	to do
Gnome2-GConf	to do
Gnome2-Canvas	to do
Gnome2-VFS	to do
Gnome2	to do
Bindings (python)
pygobject	to do
pygtk	to do
pyorbit	to do
gnome-python	to do
Mobile
GConf (dbus-based)	to do
clutter-gst	to do
External Dependencies
avahi	to do
Berkeley DB (libdb)	to do
cairo	to do
cairomm	not needed
clutter	to do
clutter-cairo	to do
clutter-gtk	to do
conduit	to do
dbus	to do
dbus-glib	to do
dbus-python	to do
desktop-file-utils	to do
DeviceKit-disks	to do
DeviceKit-power	to do
enchant	to do
expat	to do
farsight2	to do
fontconfig	to do
gamin	to do
GMime	to do
gnutls	to do
gpgme	to do
gtk-vnc	to do
hal	to do
hicolor-icon-theme	to do
icon-naming-utils	to do
intltool	to do
iso-codes	to do
libatasmart	to do
libcanberra	to do
libchamplain	to do
libcolorblind	to do
libcroco	to do
libgda	to do
libgdata	to do
libggz, ggz-client-libs	to do
libgpg-error	to do
libgcrypt	to do
libgsf	to do
libical	to do
libmapi	to do
libmusicbrainz	to do
libnotify	to do
liboil	to do
libproxy	to do
libtasn1	to do
libtelepathy	to do
libxklavier	to do
libxml2	to do
libxslt	to do
Mono.Addins	to do
mozilla (firefox)	to do
ndesk-dbus	to do
ndesk-dbus-glib	to do
opal	to do
pkg-config	to do
PolicyKit	to do
PolicyKit-gnome	to do
pulseaudio	to do
poppler	to do
pycairo	to do
ptlib	to do
Python	to do
rarian	to do
shared-mime-info	to do
sqlite	to do
startup-notification	to do
swfdec	to do
system-tools-backends	to do
telepathy-glib	to do
telepathy-mission-control	to do
unique	to do
tracker	to do
vala	to do
webkit	to do
Other
abiword	to do
atomix	wip
banshee	to do
banter	to do
beagle	to do
contact-lookup-applet	to do
couch-db	to do
dconf	to do
dia	to do
eggcups	to do
evolution-couchdb	to do
f-spot	to do
ghex	wip
gimp	to do
glom	to do
gnome-blog	to do
gnome-cups-manager	to do
gnome-hello	wip
gnome-launch-box	patch
gnome-main-menu	to do
gnome-shell	wip
GNOME Phone Manager	to do
gnome-mud	to do
goocanvas	to do
goocanvasmm	to do
GParted	to do
Gnumeric	to do
gossip	to do
gtetrinet	to do
gthumb	to do
gtranslator	wip
krb5-auth-dialog	to do
libbtctl	to do
libgnomekbd	to do
libgoffice	to do
libgsf	to do
libpeas	wip
meiga	wip
nautilus-actions	to do
nemiver	to do
NetworkManager	to do
network-manager-applet	wip
notification-daemon	wip
planner	to do
rhythmbox	to do
xchat-gnome	to do