autoconf: Libtool

1 
1 2.3 Libtool
1 ===========
1 
1 Often, one wants to build not only programs, but libraries, so that
1 other programs can benefit from the fruits of your labor.  Ideally, one
1 would like to produce _shared_ (dynamically linked) libraries, which
1 can be used by multiple programs without duplication on disk or in
1 memory and can be updated independently of the linked programs.
1 Producing shared libraries portably, however, is the stuff of
1 nightmares--each system has its own incompatible tools, compiler flags,
1 and magic incantations.  Fortunately, GNU provides a solution:
1 "Libtool".  
1 
1    Libtool handles all the requirements of building shared libraries for
1 you, and at this time seems to be the _only_ way to do so with any
1 portability.  It also handles many other headaches, such as: the
1 interaction of Make rules with the variable suffixes of shared
1 libraries, linking reliably with shared libraries before they are
1 installed by the superuser, and supplying a consistent versioning system
1 (so that different versions of a library can be installed or upgraded
1 without breaking binary compatibility).  Although Libtool, like
1 Autoconf, can be used without Automake, it is most simply utilized in
1 conjunction with Automake--there, Libtool is used automatically
1 whenever shared libraries are needed, and you need not know its syntax.
1