Software developers simplify the challenge of [[cross-platform]] software]] development by using [[GNU Autotools]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gnu.org/software/autoconf/ |title=Autoconf - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation (FSF) |publisher=GNU Operating System |access-date=20 November 2010}}</ref> These scripts query the system on which they run for environment settings, platform architecture, and the existence and ___location of required build and runtime dependencies. They store the gathered information in <code>configure.ac</code> or the now deprecated <code>configure.in</code> to be read by <code>configure</code> during the installation phase.
