這本書未涵蓋到的範圍

1.2 What the book is not / 這本書未涵蓋到的範圍

This book is not a definitive reference to Autoconf, Automake or Libtool. Attempting to do so would fill this book with information that is doomed to obsolescence. For instance, you will not find a description of every predefined macro provided by Autoconf. Instead, the book will attempt to help you understand any macro you encounter and, instead, influence how you approach software portability and package building. The GNU manual for each tool should be consulted as a reference.

這本書並不是 Autoconf, Automake 或 Libtool 的完整使用手冊，如果把所有功能都寫入這本書的話，那麼這本書將會充滿一些即將過時的資訊。換言之，你不會在這本書中找到所有 Autoconf 預先定義好的巨集，然而，這本書會試著協助你理解你所碰到的任何巨集，並指引你一個增進軟體可攜性的方向。當你需要這些工具的完整參考手冊時，可以參考各工具的 GNU 手冊。

This book briefly introduces pertinent concepts, but does not attempt to teach them comprehensively. You will find an introduction to writing `Makefile's and Bourne shell scripts, but you should consult other references to become familiar with these broader topics.

對於一些相關的工具，這本書會簡單的介紹他們的使用概念，但不會很詳細並完整的解釋他們。比如說，你可以在這本書中找到撰寫 `Makefile' 或是 Bourne shell 指令稿的初步介紹，但當你想要對這些主題更了解，你就得要閱讀其他專門討論這些工具的參考文件。