The Second Life of Autoconf for MS-DOS

Before GNU Autoconf generated configure scripts, there was a DOS program called Autoconf. It let you keep one CONFIG.SYS and one AUTOEXEC.BAT, then choose among boot configurations by pressing a key. You did not have to wait for a menu. The PC BIOS kept early keystrokes in its keyboard queue, so you could press a configuration letter before AUTOCONF.SYS had even loaded. When the driver finally ran, it found the key and continued immediately. I did not write the original. I copied its x86 assembly source by hand from a French computer magazine. It was the first assembly program I had ever seen and the first piece of code I compiled. I spent the next three or four years extending it into my first commercial product. For a long time I could not remember who had written that first version. I had thrown away the magazine, forgotten the issue, and lost the trail before old print archives became easy to search. Only now, with AI helping sift through a large collection of scanned SVM issues…

Commenting on Bubbles has been removed. Why? If you want to talk about this post, write to the author, use the comments on their blog if it has them, or reply with a "RE:" post on your own blog. Suggestions? feedback@bubbles.town