diff --git a/.github/workflows/build.yml b/.github/workflows/build.yml
index 8b1dfdb94..38120150e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build.yml
@@ -31,6 +31,51 @@ env:
   BUILD_TYPE: RelWithDebInfo
 
 jobs:
+  linux-x86_64-autotools:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+      - name: Install prerequisites
+        run: >-
+          sudo apt-get update
+
+          sudo apt-get install -y
+          build-essential
+          automake
+          libtool
+          gettext
+          flex
+          bison
+          libelf-dev
+          libusb-dev
+          libusb-1.0-0-dev
+          libhidapi-dev
+          libftdi1-dev
+          libreadline-dev
+          libserialport-dev
+          texinfo
+          texlive
+          texi2html
+      - name: Configure
+        run: >-
+          autoreconf -vis src
+
+          mkdir _ambuild && cd _ambuild
+
+          ../src/configure
+          --enable-doc
+          --enable-parport
+          --enable-linuxgpio
+          --enable-linuxspi
+      - name: Build
+        run: make -C _ambuild -j$(nproc)
+      - name: Install
+        run: sudo make -C _ambuild install
+      - name: Dryrun_test
+        run: printf "\n\n" | ./tools/test-avrdude -d0 -p"-cdryrun -pm2560" -p"-cdryrun -pavr64du28"
+      - name: distcheck
+        run: make -C _ambuild -j$(nproc) distcheck
+
   linux-x86_64:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index c47a39dc8..21bf37087 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -40,7 +40,10 @@ ltmain.sh
 ylwrap
 tags
 cscope.out
-/src/avrdude-[1-9].*.tar.*
+/src/avrdude-[1-9].[0-9].tar.*
+/src/avrdude-[1-9].[0-9]/
+/src/avrdude-[1-9].[0-9]-20[0-9][0-9][01][0-9][0-3][0-9].tar.*
+/src/avrdude-[1-9].[0-9]-20[0-9][0-9][01][0-9][0-3][0-9]/
 /src/GNUmakefile
 
 *.o
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 431eda87d..071f50b27 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -69,14 +69,14 @@ if(Git_FOUND)
         )
 
     execute_process(
-        COMMAND "${GIT_EXECUTABLE}" log -1 --format=%ad --date=format:%Y%m%d
+        COMMAND "${GIT_EXECUTABLE}" log -1 --format=%cd --date=format:%Y%m%d
         WORKING_DIRECTORY "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}"
         OUTPUT_VARIABLE GIT_COMMIT_DATE
         ERROR_QUIET OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE
         )
 
     execute_process(
-        COMMAND "${GIT_EXECUTABLE}" log -1 --format=%ad --date=format:%Y
+        COMMAND "${GIT_EXECUTABLE}" log -1 --format=%cd --date=format:%Y
         WORKING_DIRECTORY "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}"
         OUTPUT_VARIABLE GIT_COMMIT_YEAR
         ERROR_QUIET OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE
diff --git a/src/GNUmakefile.in b/src/GNUmakefile.in
index 760ec9268..f7c0c9370 100644
--- a/src/GNUmakefile.in
+++ b/src/GNUmakefile.in
@@ -1,15 +1,15 @@
-# Helps update the version number automatically if using GNU make.
-include Makefile
+# @configure_input@
 
-AUTORECONF ?= autoreconf
-AUTORECONF_OPTS ?= -vis
+include Makefile
 
-script_version := $(shell $(top_srcdir)/build-helpers/package-version $(top_srcdir) version-stamp)
-ifneq ($(PACKAGE_VERSION),$(script_version))
-$(info autoconf and script versions do not match: $(PACKAGE_VERSION) vs $(script_version))
-$(info Removing autom4te.cache and related files and re-running autoreconf)
-dummy1 := $(shell rm -rf $(top_srcdir)/autom4te.cache)
-dummy2 := $(shell $(AUTORECONF) $(AUTORECONF_OPTS) $(top_srcdir))
+need_to_rerun := $(shell $(top_srcdir)/build-helpers/versioninfo.sh "$(top_srcdir)" "@VERSIONINFO_STAMPFILE@" | { @VERSIONINFO_READ@; \
+         if @VERSIONINFO_IS_UNCHANGED@ \
+           echo "no"; \
+         fi; } )
+ifneq (no,$(need_to_rerun))
+$(info Recorded and current version information do not match.)
+$(info Re-running autoreconf via bootstrap.)
+dummy1 := $(shell $(top_srcdir)/bootstrap)
 endif
 
 # vim: syntax=make
diff --git a/src/Makefile.am b/src/Makefile.am
index 8863291a9..73142d66c 100644
--- a/src/Makefile.am
+++ b/src/Makefile.am
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ CLEANFILES = \
 	config_gram.h \
 	lexer.c
 
-include build-helpers/package-version.mk
+include build-helpers/versioninfo.mk
 
 BUILT_SOURCES = $(CLEANFILES)
 
@@ -248,4 +248,4 @@ backup-avrdude-conf:
 			${DESTDIR}${sysconfdir}/avrdude.conf.bak; \
 	fi
 
-ACLOCAL_AMFLAGS = -I m4
+ACLOCAL_AMFLAGS = -I auto-m4 -I build-helpers
diff --git a/src/auto-aux/.gitignore b/src/auto-aux/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..cf0fcab4a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/auto-aux/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+# Ensure git creates empty directory for autotools to place files into
+*
diff --git a/src/auto-m4/.gitignore b/src/auto-m4/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c2b7208bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/auto-m4/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+# Ensure creation of empty directory for autotools to place files into
+*
diff --git a/src/autotools-build.sh b/src/autotools-build.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..e1843cb61
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/autotools-build.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+#! /bin/sh
+
+set -ex
+
+cd "$(dirname "$0")"
+top_srcdir="$(pwd)"
+
+ostype="$(uname | tr A-Z a-z)"
+
+if test "x$MAKE" = x; then
+  if gmake --version > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+    MAKE=gmake
+  fi
+fi
+make="${make-"${MAKE-make} -j$(nproc)"}"
+
+rm -rf autom4te.cache/
+
+prefix="$top_srcdir/build_autotools-prefix"
+rm -rf "$prefix"
+
+top_builddir="$top_srcdir/build_autotools"
+
+# Remove remainders of failed distcheck attempts
+for dir in "$top_builddir"
+do
+    if test -d "$dir"; then
+	chmod -R +w "$dir"
+    fi
+done
+rm -rf "$top_builddir"
+
+./bootstrap
+
+mkdir "$top_builddir"
+cd "$top_builddir"
+
+configure_opts=""
+configure_opts="$configure_opts --disable-silent-rules"
+configure_opts="$configure_opts --enable-parport"
+case "$ostype" in
+  *linux)
+    configure_opts="$configure_opts --enable-linuxgpio --enable-linuxspi"
+    configure_opts="$configure_opts --enable-doc"
+    ;;
+esac
+
+$top_srcdir/configure --prefix="$prefix" ${configure_opts}
+
+$make all
+$make check
+$make install
+$make installcheck
+
+printf "\n\n" | $top_srcdir/../tools/test-avrdude -e $prefix/bin/avrdude -d0 -p"-cdryrun -pm2560" -p"-cdryrun -pavr64du28"
+
+$make distcheck
diff --git a/src/bootstrap b/src/bootstrap
index 207dc4c20..19d4bb644 100755
--- a/src/bootstrap
+++ b/src/bootstrap
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 #! /bin/sh
 
+cd "$(dirname "$0")"
+
+: ${AUTORECONF="autoreconf${AC_VER}"}
 : ${AUTOHEADER="autoheader${AC_VER}"}
 : ${AUTOCONF="autoconf${AC_VER}"}
 : ${ACLOCAL="aclocal${AM_VER}"}
@@ -17,9 +20,6 @@ rm -rf autom4te.cache
 # probe for that
 LIBTOOLIZE=libtoolize
 glibtoolize --version > /dev/null 2>&1 && LIBTOOLIZE=glibtoolize
-${LIBTOOLIZE}
+export LIBTOOLIZE
 
-${ACLOCAL}
-${AUTOHEADER}
-${AUTOCONF}
-${AUTOMAKE} -a -c
+${AUTORECONF} -i "$@"
diff --git a/src/build-helpers/package-version b/src/build-helpers/package-version
deleted file mode 100755
index cc87d13ee..000000000
--- a/src/build-helpers/package-version
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,102 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/sh
-# Syntax:
-#   $0 <path-to-top_srcdir> <version-stamp-file>
-#
-# <path-to-top_srcdir> may be relative
-# <version-stamp-file> is relative to the dist top_srcdir
-#
-# Test this script by running
-#     rm -rf autom4te.cache/ && autoreconf -vis . && sed -n "/^# Generated by GNU/p" configure
-#
-# If we run into an error, we cannot abort the "autoreconf" run by
-# exiting with a non-0 error code. (We do exit non-0 in that case
-# anyway for help when testing this script.)
-# The only thing we can do to report an error is to write to stderr
-# which appears as "autoreconf" output, and to write a version number
-# to stdout which indicates an error. The "configure" script can
-# then check whether $PACKAGE_VERSION indicates such an error.
-
-# Parse the command line arguments
-prog="$(basename "$0")"
-top_srcdir="${1-.}"
-test -d "$top_srcdir" || { \
-    echo "$prog: Error: Could not change to top_srcdir '$1'" >&2; \
-    echo "version_error_1" | ${TR-tr} -d '\012'
-    exit 2; \
-}
-version_stamp="${2-version-stamp}"
-
-# echo "$prog: Error: Some error happend." >&2
-# echo "version_error_2" | ${TR-tr} -d '\012'
-# exit 2
-
-# Is this a dist source tree?
-# If so, use the version number from the version_stamp file.
-if test -f "$top_srcdir/$version_stamp"; then
-    cat "$top_srcdir/$version_stamp" | ${TR-tr} -d '\012'
-    exit
-fi
-
-# Is this part of a git checkout or an expanded github snapshot tarball?
-test -f "$top_srcdir/../CMakeLists.txt" || { \
-    echo "$prog: Error: top-level avrdude CMakeLists.txt file not found" >&2; \
-    echo "version_error_3" | ${TR-tr} -d '\012'
-    exit 2; \
-}
-
-if PROJECT_VERSION="$(${SED-sed} -n 's/project(avrdude[[:space:]]\{1,\}VERSION[[:space:]]\{1,\}\([0-9\.]\{1,\}\)[[:space:]]\{1,\}.*/\1/p' "$top_srcdir/../CMakeLists.txt")"; then
-    :
-else
-    echo "$prog: Error parsing top-level avrdude 'CMakeLists.txt'." >&2
-    echo "version_error_4" | ${TR-tr} -d '\012'
-    exit 2
-fi
-
-test -n "$PROJECT_VERSION" || { \
-    echo "$prog: Error: Could not find project(...) in top-level avrdude 'CMakeLists.txt'" >&2; \
-    echo "version_error_5" | ${TR-tr} -d '\012'
-    exit 2; \
-}
-
-# If GIT_DIR is set, use it. If not, try "$top_srcdir/../.git".
-test -n "$GIT_DIR" || { \
-    GIT_DIR="$top_srcdir/../.git"; \
-    export GIT_DIR; \
-}
-
-# Working with a git source tree
-if test -d "$GIT_DIR"; then
-    GIT_COMMIT_HASH="$(${GIT-git} log -1 --format=%h)" || { \
-        echo "$prog: Error: Cannot run 'git log' for commit hash" >&2; \
-        echo "version_error_71" | ${TR-tr} -d '\012'; \
-        exit 2; \
-    }
-    GIT_COMMIT_DATE="$(${GIT-git} log -1 --format=%ad --date=format:%Y%m%d)" || { \
-        echo "$prog: Error: Cannot run 'git log' for commit date" >&2; \
-        echo "version_error_72" | ${TR-tr} -d '\012'; \
-        exit 2; \
-    }
-    GIT_TAG_HASH="$(${GIT-git} log -1 --tags --format=%h)" || { \
-        echo "$prog: Error: Cannot run 'git log' for tag hash" >&2; \
-        echo "version_error_73" | ${TR-tr} -d '\012'; \
-        exit 2; \
-    }
-    if test "x$GIT_COMMIT_HASH" = "x$GIT_TAG_HASH"; then
-        echo "${PROJECT_VERSION}" | ${TR-tr} -d '\012'
-        exit
-    else
-        echo "${PROJECT_VERSION}-${GIT_COMMIT_DATE}" | ${TR-tr} -d '\012'
-        exit
-    fi
-else
-    # Building a github release tarball or github snapshot tarball.
-    #
-    # Presume this is a release version, because who would build a
-    # non-release version from a snapshot tarball?
-    echo "${PROJECT_VERSION}" | ${TR-tr} -d '\012'
-    exit
-fi
-
-# If everything else has failed, call this version "devel"
-echo "devel" | ${TR-tr} -d '\012'
-exit 2
diff --git a/src/build-helpers/package-version.mk b/src/build-helpers/package-version.mk
deleted file mode 100644
index 01502dfd5..000000000
--- a/src/build-helpers/package-version.mk
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,26 +0,0 @@
-BUILD_SCRIPT_DIR = build-helpers
-
-# Check that package version matches git version before creating dist tarballs
-dist-hook: cur-version-check cur-version-stamp
-distcheck-hook: cur-version-check
-
-# Note: We cannot run autoreconf from here, because we would need some way to
-#       restart the whole dist process from the start and there is none.
-EXTRA_DIST += $(top_srcdir)/$(BUILD_SCRIPT_DIR)/package-version
-cur-version-check:
-	@cur_ver=`$(top_srcdir)/$(BUILD_SCRIPT_DIR)/package-version $(top_srcdir) version-stamp`; \
-	if test "x$${cur_ver}" = "x$(PACKAGE_VERSION)"; then :; else \
-		echo "ERROR: Recorded PACKAGE_VERSION and current version do not match:"; \
-		echo "         current  version:         $${cur_ver}"; \
-		echo "         recorded PACKAGE_VERSION: $(PACKAGE_VERSION)"; \
-		rm -rf "$(top_srcdir)/autom4te.cache"; \
-		echo "Update PACKAGE_VERSION by running autoreconf(1)."; \
-		exit 1; \
-	fi
-
-# Version stamp files can only exist in tarball source trees.
-#
-# So there is no need to generate them anywhere else or to clean them
-# up anywhere.
-cur-version-stamp:
-	echo "$(PACKAGE_VERSION)" > "$(distdir)/version-stamp"
diff --git a/src/build-helpers/versioninfo.m4 b/src/build-helpers/versioninfo.m4
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..30e36d6e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/build-helpers/versioninfo.m4
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+# versioninfo.m4 - find avrdude version information for msg  -*- Autoconf -*-
+# serial 1
+dnl | Increment the above serial number every time you edit this file.
+dnl | When it finds multiple m4 files with the same name,
+dnl | aclocal will use the one with the highest serial.
+dnl
+dnl The sequence of version info items to store in the version-stamp file.
+dnl This must be the same sequence as the versioninfo script writes.
+m4_pattern_forbid([versioninfo_items])
+m4_define([versioninfo_items], [
+  [CMAKE_PROJECT_VERSION],
+  [GIT_COMMIT_DATE],
+  [GIT_COMMIT_HASH],
+  [GIT_TAG_HASH]
+])
+dnl
+dnl Initialize version info from the script command given as macro argument.
+m4_pattern_forbid([versioninfo_init])
+m4_define([versioninfo_init], [
+  m4_pushdef([versioninfo_split], m4_split(m4_esyscmd($1),m4_newline))
+  m4_case(m4_sysval, [0], [
+    m4_for([N], [1], m4_count(versioninfo_split), [1], [
+      m4_define([versioninfo_]m4_normalize(m4_argn(N, versioninfo_items)),
+                m4_normalize(m4_argn(N, versioninfo_split)))
+    ])
+  ], [
+    m4_fatal([versioninfo script returned non-0])
+  ])
+])
+dnl
+m4_define([versioninfo_stampfile], [versioninfo-stamp])
+dnl
+versioninfo_init([./build-helpers/versioninfo.sh . ]m4_defn([versioninfo_stampfile]))
+dnl
+dnl
+dnl
+dnl ========================================================================
+dnl VERSIONINFO_SETUP()
+dnl ========================================================================
+dnl
+AC_DEFUN([VERSIONINFO_SETUP], [dnl
+m4_foreach([ITEM], [versioninfo_items], [dnl
+  AC_SUBST(m4_normalize(ITEM), [m4_defn([versioninfo_]m4_normalize(ITEM))])
+  AC_MSG_CHECKING([versioninfo item ]m4_normalize(ITEM))
+  AC_MSG_RESULT([$]m4_normalize(ITEM))
+])
+dnl
+dnl Define helper substitutions containing shell code for use inside
+dnl make recipes in build-helpers/versioninfo.mk and $(shell ...)
+dnl calls in GNUmakefile.in dealing with version info.
+dnl
+AC_SUBST([VERSIONINFO_STAMPFILE], [m4_defn([versioninfo_stampfile])])
+AM_SUBST_NOTMAKE([VERSIONINFO_WRITE])
+dnl
+AC_SUBST([VERSIONINFO_READ],
+         ['m4_foreach([ITEM], [versioninfo_items], [read m4_normalize(ITEM); ]):'])
+AM_SUBST_NOTMAKE([VERSIONINFO_READ])
+dnl
+AC_SUBST([VERSIONINFO_WRITE],
+         ['printf "%s\n"m4_foreach([ITEM], [versioninfo_items], [ "$(m4_normalize(ITEM))"])'])
+AM_SUBST_NOTMAKE([VERSIONINFO_WRITE])
+dnl
+AC_SUBST([VERSIONINFO_IS_UNCHANGED],
+         ['false; then :; m4_foreach([ITEM], [versioninfo_items], [elif test "x$(m4_normalize(ITEM))" != "x$$m4_normalize(ITEM)"; then printf "%s has changed from %s to %s\n" "m4_normalize(ITEM)" "$(m4_normalize(ITEM))" "$$m4_normalize(ITEM)" >&2; ]) else '])
+AM_SUBST_NOTMAKE([VERSIONINFO_IS_UNCHANGED])
+dnl
+])dnl
+dnl
+dnl ####################################################################
+dnl
+dnl Local Variables:
+dnl mode: autoconf
+dnl End:
diff --git a/src/build-helpers/versioninfo.md b/src/build-helpers/versioninfo.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2e3ae9f71
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/build-helpers/versioninfo.md
@@ -0,0 +1,190 @@
+The versioninfo mechanism
+=========================
+
+This describes the versioninfo mechanism which automatically generates
+the version information for use in `configure.ac` and then the rest of
+the autotools build system.
+
+
+The basic idea
+--------------
+
+The main goals are
+
+  * Avoid the need for avrdude maintainers to edit the avrdude version
+    in the autotools buildsystem's `configure.ac` in addition to the
+    cmake buildsystem's main `CMakeLists.txt` file.
+
+  * Have the autotools buildsystem generate the same version message as
+    the cmake buildsystem in both the `avrdude.conf` file and the
+    `avrdude -?` output version message.
+
+To achieve this, we need to replicate some of the logic from the
+top-level `CMakeLists.txt` which creates the `AVRDUDE_FULL_VERSION`
+variable.
+
+We run this logic mostly at bootstrap/autoreconf time, with the
+`configure` propagating the information, so that some `make` time
+checks can determine whether the bootstrap code needs to be re-run,
+and re-run it automatically if possible.
+
+
+All the different build types
+-----------------------------
+
+There are many ways to build avrdude.
+
+There are three types of source trees:
+
+  * a git clone's working directory with a `.git/` directory
+
+  * an extracted GitHub tarball/zipfile (contains the same as a git
+    clone's working directory, but no `.git/` directory with its
+    associated git commit information)
+
+  * from a dist tarball as generated by the autotools buildsystem's
+    `make dist` or `make distcheck` commands (contains the required
+    git commit information inside the versioninfo-stamp file)
+
+In any of these cases, this can be an avrdude release or non-release,
+determined by whether the latest commit's hash is equal to the latest
+tag's commit's hash (`GIT_COMMIT_HASH == GIT_TAG_HASH`).
+
+In principle, any of these source types could be built with either the
+cmake buildsystem or the autotools buildsystem. With `configure.ac`
+being rooted in the `src/` subdirectory though, the dist tarball
+generated by `make dist` cannot contain files outside of `src/` which
+are required for a cmake build.
+
+In all types of builds, we want the same version message when building
+using the autotools buildsystem as the cmake buildsystem creates:
+
+  * `7.3` for a release
+  * `7.3-20240213 (9634fd15)` with commit date and commit hash for a
+    non-release.
+
+If we abbreviate those types of version messages with `R` for release
+and `H` for hash, we can put all cases into a table. `BS` stands for
+buildsystem, obviously.
+
+```
+                               Version_Message
+SOURCE TYPE     BS  Release?   Wanted  Actual
+git clone wd    cm  yes        R       R
+git clone wd    cm  no         H       H
+github tarball  cm  yes        R       R
+github tarball  cm  no         H       R (wrong/missing info)
+dist tarball    cm  yes        R       cmake build N/A at this time
+dist tarball    cm  no         H       cmake build N/A at this time
+
+git clone wd    am  yes        R       R
+git clone wd    am  no         H       H
+github tarball  am  yes        R       R
+github tarball  am  no         H       R (wrong/missing info/like cmake)
+dist tarball    am  yes        R       R
+dist tarball    am  no         H       H
+```
+
+As the github tarball (like the github zipfile) does not contain any
+commit/tag information, it is impossible for any buildsystem to
+determine whether building a release or non-release.
+
+The dist tarball generated by the autotools buildsystem's `make dist`
+does contain the commit/tag information, so builds from such a dist
+tarball can correctly determine whether they are building a release or
+a non-release source tree. However, only builds using the autotools
+buildsystem are possible as long as the `configure.ac` file is located
+inside the `src/` subdirectory instead of the top-level directory.
+
+
+The `build-helpers/versioninfo.sh` script file
+----------------------------------------------
+
+The `versioninfo.sh` script tries to determine the version and git
+information from the raw sources:
+
+  * The version number (`7.3`) is determined from the top-level
+    `CMakeLists.txt` file's `project(... VERSION ...)` line.
+
+  * The information on the latest git commit date and hash and git tag
+    hash is determined from the `.git/` subdirectory corresponding to
+    the top-level `CMakeLIsts.txt` file.
+
+The `versioninfo.sh` script then prints these items, one per line.
+
+
+The `build-helpers/versioninfo.m4` m4 include file
+--------------------------------------------------
+
+This defines the two parts of the m4 code:
+
+  * The m4 code which calls `versioninfo.sh`, parses its output, and
+    defines some m4 macros before `AC_INIT`:
+
+      * The `versioninfo_items` macro describes the sequence of
+        versioninfo items printed in lines by the `versioninfo.sh`
+        script
+
+      * The `versioninfo_init` macro runs the `versioninfo.sh` script
+        and parses its output, `m4_define`ing a `versioninfo_<ITEM>`
+        macro for each `ITEM` from `versioninfo_items`
+
+      * The `versioninfo_stampfile` macro contains the name of the
+        stamp file which caches the versioninfo items for use in
+        tarballs.
+
+      * The `versioninfo_init` macro is evaluated once, so that
+        `versioninfo.sh` is only run once as well.
+
+    The m4 macros with the parsed results can then be evaluated using
+    `m4_defn(...)` both in the `AC_INIT(...)` invocation for the
+    `PACKAGE_VERSION`, and also later for defining
+    `AVRDUDE_FULL_VERSION` and git commit information.
+
+  * The m4 code `AC_DEFUN`s the `VERSIONINFO_SETUP` macro, which in
+    turn defines `AC_SUBST` substitution and make variables for each
+    of the versioninfo items, and also defines a few
+    stubstitution-only (not make) variables for use in make rules in
+    `versioninfo.mk` and `GNUmakefile.in`, which write, read, parse,
+    and compare the versioninfo items as defined in
+    `versioninfo_items`.
+
+
+The `build-helpers/versioninfo.mk` Makefile include file
+--------------------------------------------------------
+
+To be `include`d into the top-level `Makefile.am`, this does two things:
+
+  * Hooks into the `dist` and `distcheck` targets to check the
+    recorded version information is the same one `versioninfo.sh`
+    would detect right now, and prevents builds with out of date
+    versioninfo items.
+
+  * Writes the stamp file with the versioninfo data when creating a
+    dist tarball.
+
+
+The `configure.ac` file
+-----------------------
+
+Before `AC_INIT`, uses m4 logic to evaluate what the `PACKAGE_VERSION`
+should be.
+
+Expands the `VERSIONINFO_SETUP` macro both to run its content and to
+force `aclocal` to pull in `versioninfo.m4` into `aclocal.m4` so that
+the m4 code from `versioninfo.m4` is evaluated before `AC_INIT`.
+
+Evaluates the `AVRDUDE_FULL_VERSION` message and adds it as both a C
+preprocessor macro and a autoconf substitution and make variable.
+
+
+The `GNUmakefile.in` and `GNUmakefile` files
+--------------------------------------------
+
+If you are running GNU make, the `GNUmakefile` file generated from the
+`GNUmakefile.in` file will update the versioninfo automatically before
+executing any possible make recipes.
+
+If you are not running GNU make, you will need to run the command to
+update the versioninfo update command manually. You will be shown that
+command if necessary.
diff --git a/src/build-helpers/versioninfo.mk b/src/build-helpers/versioninfo.mk
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7978bc2ec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/build-helpers/versioninfo.mk
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+# -*- makefile-automake -*-
+
+EXTRA_DIST += build-helpers/versioninfo.m4
+EXTRA_DIST += build-helpers/versioninfo.md
+EXTRA_DIST += build-helpers/versioninfo.sh
+
+# Before creating dist tarballs, check that autom4te version matches
+# versioninfo script version.
+dist-hook: versioninfo-check versioninfo-stamp
+distcheck-hook: versioninfo-check
+
+# Note: We cannot run autoreconf from this make recipe, because we would
+#       need some way to restart the whole dist process from the start
+#       and there is none.
+versioninfo-check:
+	@:; \
+	$(top_srcdir)/build-helpers/versioninfo.sh "$(top_srcdir)" "@VERSIONINFO_STAMPFILE@" \
+	| ( @VERSIONINFO_READ@; \
+	    if @VERSIONINFO_IS_UNCHANGED@ \
+	      exit 0; \
+	    fi; \
+	    rm -rf "$(top_srcdir)/autom4te.cache"; \
+	    echo "Update the recorded version information by re-running bootstrap/autoreconf(1)."; \
+	    exit 1; )
+
+# Version stamp files can only exist in tarball source trees.
+#
+# So there is no need to generate them anywhere else or to clean them
+# up anywhere.
+versioninfo-stamp:
+	@VERSIONINFO_WRITE@ > "$(distdir)/versioninfo-stamp"
diff --git a/src/build-helpers/versioninfo.sh b/src/build-helpers/versioninfo.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..58ebc9c6d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/build-helpers/versioninfo.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+# Syntax:
+#   $0 <path-to-top_srcdir> <versioninfo-stamp-file>
+#
+# <path-to-top_srcdir> may be relative
+# <versioninfo-stamp-file> is relative to the dist top_srcdir
+#
+# Test this script by running something like
+#     rm -rf autom4te.cache/ && autoreconf -vis . && sed -n "/^# Generated by GNU/p" configure
+#
+# On error handling
+# -----------------
+#
+# If we run into an error, we write an error message to stderr and exit
+# with a non-0 code. The caller can then check the exit code, and the
+# user can read the message from stderr.
+
+
+# Parse the command line arguments
+prog="$(basename "$0")"
+top_srcdir="${1-.}"
+versioninfo_stamp="${2-versioninfo-stamp}"
+
+
+# global settings
+verbose=false
+
+
+# Usage example:
+#   ret_error "Something is wrong: answer != 42"
+ret_error() {
+    printf "$prog: error: %s\n" "$1" >&2
+    exit 1
+}
+
+
+# Usage examples:
+#   ret_ok "7.3"
+#   ret_ok "7.3" "20231231"
+#   ret_ok "7.3" "20231231" "0123abcd"
+#   ret_ok "7.3" "20231231" "0123abcd" "4567cdef"
+ret_ok() {
+    if $verbose; then
+	printf "$prog: version info from cmake/git: %s\n" "$*" >&2
+    fi
+    printf "%s\n" "$@"
+    exit 0
+}
+
+
+# Usage example:
+#  ret_ok_file "$top_srcdir/$versioninfo_stamp"
+ret_ok_file() {
+    if $verbose; then
+	printf "$prog: version information from file: %s\n" "$1" >&2
+    fi
+    cat "$1"
+    exit 0
+}
+
+
+# Uncomment the following line to help debug the error case
+# ret_error "Some error happened for testing purposes"
+
+
+test -d "$top_srcdir" || \
+    ret_error "Could not change to top_srcdir '$1'"
+
+
+# If this is a "make dist" source tree, use info from versioninfo_stamp file.
+if test -f "$top_srcdir/$versioninfo_stamp"; then
+    ret_ok_file "$top_srcdir/$versioninfo_stamp"
+fi
+
+
+# This must be part of a git checkout or an expanded github snapshot tarball.
+test -f "$top_srcdir/../CMakeLists.txt" || \
+    ret_error "top-level avrdude CMakeLists.txt file not found"
+
+
+# Find and parse "project(...)" line in top-level CmakeLists.txt file
+if PROJECT_VERSION="$(${SED-sed} -n 's/project(avrdude[[:space:]]\{1,\}VERSION[[:space:]]\{1,\}\([0-9\.]\{1,\}\)[[:space:]]\{1,\}.*/\1/p' "$top_srcdir/../CMakeLists.txt")"; then
+    :
+else
+    ret_error "Error parsing top-level avrdude 'CMakeLists.txt'."
+fi
+
+test -n "$PROJECT_VERSION" || \
+    ret_error "Cannot find project(...) in top-level avrdude 'CMakeLists.txt'"
+
+
+# If GIT_DIR is set, use it. If not, try "$top_srcdir/../.git".
+test -n "$GIT_DIR" || { \
+    GIT_DIR="$top_srcdir/../.git"; \
+    export GIT_DIR; \
+}
+
+
+# If working with a git source tree, determine git information
+if test -d "$GIT_DIR" && ${GIT-git} --version > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+    GIT_COMMIT_HASH="$(${GIT-git} log -1 --format=%h)" || \
+	ret_error "$prog: Cannot run 'git log' for commit hash"
+    GIT_COMMIT_DATE="$(${GIT-git} log -1 --format=%cd --date=format:%Y%m%d)" || \
+	ret_error "$prog: Error: Cannot run 'git log' for commit date"
+    GIT_TAG_HASH="$(${GIT-git} log -1 --tags --format=%h)" || \
+	ret_error "$prog: Cannot run 'git log' for tag hash"
+    # This must be the same sequence as versioninfo_items in configure.ac
+    ret_ok "${PROJECT_VERSION}" \
+	   "${GIT_COMMIT_DATE}" "${GIT_COMMIT_HASH}" "${GIT_TAG_HASH}"
+else # This is a github release tarball or github snapshot tarball
+    # Presume this is a release version, because who would build a
+    # non-release version from a snapshot tarball?
+    ret_ok "${PROJECT_VERSION}"
+fi
+
+
+# This code should never be reached.
+ret_error "$prog: This code should never be reached."
diff --git a/src/cmake_config.h.in b/src/cmake_config.h.in
index 88f6f39e8..b8e9c2504 100644
--- a/src/cmake_config.h.in
+++ b/src/cmake_config.h.in
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
 #include "msvc/msvc_compat.h"
 #endif
 
-#define VERSION "@AVRDUDE_FULL_VERSION@"
+#define AVRDUDE_FULL_VERSION "@AVRDUDE_FULL_VERSION@"
 
 /* Options */
 
diff --git a/src/configure.ac b/src/configure.ac
index d24ba689b..4b6809279 100644
--- a/src/configure.ac
+++ b/src/configure.ac
@@ -20,51 +20,85 @@
 # $Id$
 #
 
-# Process this file with autoconf to produce a configure script.
-
-AC_PREREQ(2.60)
+# Process this file with autoreconf to produce a configure script.
+
+dnl A few tool releases with release dates for orientation which tool
+dnl requirements can make sense:
+dnl
+dnl 2019-03-14 cmake    3.13
+dnl
+dnl 2006-10-23 autoconf 2.60    used to be avrdude's requirement
+dnl 2012-04-24 autoconf 2.69
+dnl 2021-01-28 autoconf 2.71
+dnl
+dnl 2013-06-20 automake 1.14
+dnl 2018-02-25 automake 1.16
+dnl 2018-03-11 automake 1.16.1  install-sh symlink fix
+
+
+dnl Change this definition if you want to change the dist tarball name
+dnl pattern from avrdude-7.3 for releases and avrdude-7.3-${COMMIT_DATE}
+dnl for snapshots.
+m4_define([versioninfo_AVRDUDE_PACKAGE_VERSION],
+          m4_case(m4_defn([versioninfo_GIT_COMMIT_HASH]),
+	          m4_defn([versioninfo_GIT_TAG_HASH]),
+	          m4_defn([versioninfo_CMAKE_PROJECT_VERSION]),
+		  m4_defn([versioninfo_CMAKE_PROJECT_VERSION])-m4_defn([versioninfo_GIT_COMMIT_DATE])))
+
+AC_PREREQ([2.69])
 AC_INIT([avrdude],
-        m4_esyscmd([./build-helpers/package-version . version-stamp]),
+        m4_defn([versioninfo_AVRDUDE_PACKAGE_VERSION]),
         [https://github.com/avrdudes/avrdude/issues])
 
+AC_CONFIG_SRCDIR([main.c])
+AC_CONFIG_AUX_DIR([auto-aux])
+AC_CONFIG_HEADERS([ac_cfg.h])
+AC_CONFIG_MACRO_DIR([auto-m4])
+
 AC_CANONICAL_BUILD
 AC_CANONICAL_HOST
 AC_CANONICAL_TARGET
 
-AC_CONFIG_SRCDIR([main.c])
-AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE([foreign])
-AC_CONFIG_HEADERS(ac_cfg.h)
-AC_CONFIG_MACRO_DIR([m4])
+AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE([
+  1.14
+  foreign
+  subdir-objects
+])
 
-# Check that the build-helpers/package-version script has worked properly.
-case "$PACKAGE_VERSION" in
-    devel|version_error_*)
-	AC_MSG_ERROR([
-Autogenerating the package version (${PACKAGE_VERSION}) has failed.
+AM_SILENT_RULES([yes])
 
-Please file an issue at ${PACKAGE_BUGREPORT}
 
-You can write some version number to the file version-stamp as a
-workaround to allow building avrdude until the filed issue has been
-fixed.
-])
-	;;
-esac
+VERSIONINFO_SETUP()
 
-LT_INIT()
+dnl Inform about the derived PACKAGE_VERSION
+AC_MSG_CHECKING([versioninfo derived PACKAGE_VERSION])
+AC_MSG_RESULT([$PACKAGE_VERSION])
+
+dnl Compose the full version message mirroring the cmake one, inform
+dnl about it and pass it on to avrdude.conf and the "avrdude -?"
+dnl version message
+AC_MSG_CHECKING([versioninfo derived AVRDUDE_FULL_VERSION])
+if test "x$GIT_COMMIT_HASH" = "x$GIT_TAG_HASH"; then
+	AVRDUDE_FULL_VERSION="$PACKAGE_VERSION"
+else
+	AVRDUDE_FULL_VERSION="$PACKAGE_VERSION ($GIT_COMMIT_HASH)"
+fi
+AC_MSG_RESULT([$AVRDUDE_FULL_VERSION])
+AC_DEFINE_UNQUOTED([AVRDUDE_FULL_VERSION], ["$AVRDUDE_FULL_VERSION"],
+                   [The full avrdude version as displayed in -? and avrdude.conf])
+AC_SUBST([AVRDUDE_FULL_VERSION])
 
-m4_ifdef([AM_SILENT_RULES], [AM_SILENT_RULES([yes])])
 
 # Checks for programs.
 AC_PROG_CC
 AC_PROG_INSTALL
+AC_PROG_AWK
 AC_PROG_SED
 AC_PROG_YACC
-AC_PROG_LEX
-AN_MAKEVAR([AR], [AC_PROG_AR])
-AN_PROGRAM([ar], [AC_PROG_AR])
-AC_DEFUN([AC_PROG_AR], [AC_CHECK_TARGET_TOOL(AR, ar, :)])
-AC_PROG_AR
+AC_PROG_LEX([noyywrap])
+AM_PROG_AR
+LT_INIT()
+
 AH_TEMPLATE([HAVE_YYLEX_DESTROY],
             [Define if lex/flex has yylex_destroy])
 # flex should have this
@@ -100,11 +134,19 @@ AC_CHECK_LIB([ws2_32], [WSAStartup])
 
 AC_CHECK_LIB([termcap], [tputs])
 AC_CHECK_LIB([ncurses], [tputs])
-AC_CHECK_LIB([readline], [readline])
+
+AC_CHECK_LIB([readline], [readline], [dnl
+	LIBS="-lreadline $LIBS"
+	AC_DEFINE([HAVE_LIBREADLINE], [1],
+	          [Whether we have libreadline with the readline function])
+	have_libreadline=yes
+])
+
 AH_TEMPLATE([HAVE_LIBELF],
             [Define if ELF support is enabled via libelf])
 AC_CHECK_LIB([elf], [elf_getshdrstrndx], [have_libelf=yes])
-if test x$have_libelf = xyes; then
+LIBELF=""
+if test "x$have_libelf" = xyes; then
    case $target in
        *)
                LIBELF="-lelf"
@@ -113,14 +155,15 @@ if test x$have_libelf = xyes; then
    AC_DEFINE([HAVE_LIBELF])
    AC_CHECK_HEADERS([libelf.h libelf/libelf.h])
 fi
-AC_SUBST(LIBELF, $LIBELF)
+AC_SUBST([LIBELF])
 
 AC_SEARCH_LIBS([gethostent], [nsl])
 AC_SEARCH_LIBS([setsockopt], [socket])
 AH_TEMPLATE([HAVE_LIBUSB],
             [Define if USB support is enabled via libusb])
 AC_CHECK_LIB([usb], [usb_get_string_simple], [have_libusb=yes])
-if test x$have_libusb = xyes; then
+LIBUSB=""
+if test "x$have_libusb" = xyes; then
    case $target in
        *-*-darwin*)
                LIBUSB="-lusb -framework CoreFoundation -framework IOKit"
@@ -133,24 +176,25 @@ if test x$have_libusb = xyes; then
    AC_CHECK_HEADERS([usb.h])
    AC_CHECK_HEADERS([lusb0_usb.h])
 fi
-AC_SUBST(LIBUSB, $LIBUSB)
+AC_SUBST([LIBUSB])
 
 AC_ARG_ENABLE(
 	[libusb_1_0],
-	AC_HELP_STRING(
-		[--disable-libusb_1_0],
-		[Allow to build with libusb instead of libusb_1_0 if both are present]),
+	AS_HELP_STRING([--disable-libusb_1_0],
+	               [Allow to build with libusb instead of libusb_1_0 if both are present]),
 	[case "${enableval}" in
 		yes) enabled_libusb_1_0=yes ;;
 		no)  enabled_libusb_1_0=no ;;
-		*)   AC_MSG_ERROR(bad value ${enableval} for enable-libusb_1_0 option) ;;
+		*)   AC_MSG_ERROR([bad value ${enableval} for enable-libusb_1_0 option]) ;;
 		esac],
 	[enabled_libusb_1_0=yes])	
 
+have_libusb_1_0=no
 AH_TEMPLATE([HAVE_LIBUSB_1_0],
             [Define if USB support is enabled via libusb 1.0])
 AC_CHECK_LIB([usb-1.0], [libusb_init], [have_libusb_1_0=yes])
-if test x$have_libusb_1_0 = xyes && test x$enabled_libusb_1_0 = xyes; then
+LIBUSB_1_0=""
+if test "x$have_libusb_1_0" = xyes && test "x$enabled_libusb_1_0" = xyes; then
    case $target in
        *-*-darwin*)
                LIBUSB_1_0="-lusb-1.0 -framework CoreFoundation -framework IOKit"
@@ -166,7 +210,7 @@ fi
 AH_TEMPLATE([HAVE_LIBUSB_1_0],
             [Define if USB support is enabled via a libusb-1.0 compatible libusb])
 AC_CHECK_LIB([usb], [libusb_init], [have_libusb_1_0=yes])
-if test x$have_libusb_1_0 = xyes && test x$enabled_libusb_1_0 = xyes; then
+if test "x$have_libusb_1_0" = xyes && test "x$enabled_libusb_1_0" = xyes; then
    case $target in
        *-*-freebsd*)
                # FreeBSD 8+ has a native libusb-1.0 API compatible
@@ -183,12 +227,14 @@ if test x$have_libusb_1_0 = xyes && test x$enabled_libusb_1_0 = xyes; then
    AC_DEFINE([HAVE_LIBUSB_1_0])
    AC_CHECK_HEADERS([libusb.h])
 fi
-AC_SUBST(LIBUSB_1_0, $LIBUSB_1_0)
+AC_SUBST([LIBUSB_1_0])
 
 AH_TEMPLATE([HAVE_LIBHIDAPI],
             [Define if HID support is enabled via libhidapi])
-AC_SEARCH_LIBS([hid_init], [hidapi hidapi-libusb hidapi-hidraw], [have_libhidapi=yes])
-if test x$have_libhidapi = xyes; then
+AC_SEARCH_LIBS([hid_init], [hidapi hidapi-libusb hidapi-hidraw],
+               [have_libhidapi=yes], [have_libhidapi=no])
+LIBHIDAPI=""
+if test "x$have_libhidapi" = xyes; then
    case $target in
        *-*-darwin*)
                LIBHIDAPI="-lhidapi -iframework CoreFoundation -framework IOKit"
@@ -200,12 +246,14 @@ if test x$have_libhidapi = xyes; then
    AC_DEFINE([HAVE_LIBHIDAPI])
    AC_CHECK_HEADERS([hidapi/hidapi.h])
 fi
-AC_SUBST(LIBHIDAPI, $LIBHIDAPI)
+AC_SUBST([LIBHIDAPI])
 
 AH_TEMPLATE([HAVE_LIBSERIALPORT],
             [Define if libserialport is found])
-AC_CHECK_LIB([serialport], [sp_open], [have_libserialport=yes])
-if test x$have_libserialport = xyes; then
+AC_CHECK_LIB([serialport], [sp_open],
+             [have_libserialport=yes], [have_libserialport=no])
+LIBSERIALPORT=""
+if test "x$have_libserialport" = xyes; then
    case $target in
        *)
                LIBSERIALPORT="-lserialport"
@@ -214,7 +262,7 @@ if test x$have_libserialport = xyes; then
    AC_DEFINE([HAVE_LIBSERIALPORT])
    AC_CHECK_HEADERS([libserialport.h])
 fi
-AC_SUBST(LIBSERIALPORT, $LIBSERIALPORT)
+AC_SUBST([LIBSERIALPORT])
 
 AH_TEMPLATE([HAVE_LIBFTDI1],
             [Define if FTDI support is enabled via libftdi1])
@@ -222,32 +270,42 @@ AH_TEMPLATE([HAVE_LIBFTDI],
             [Define if FTDI support is enabled via libftdi])
 AH_TEMPLATE([HAVE_LIBFTDI_TYPE_232H],
             [Define if libftdi supports FT232H, libftdi version >= 0.20])
-AC_CHECK_LIB([ftdi1], [ftdi_new], [have_libftdi1=yes], [], [$LIBUSB_1_0])
-AC_CHECK_LIB([ftdi], [ftdi_usb_get_strings], [have_libftdi=yes], [], [-lusb])
-if test x$have_libftdi1 = xyes; then
+AC_CHECK_LIB([ftdi1], [ftdi_new],
+             [have_libftdi1=yes], [have_libftdi1=no], [$LIBUSB_1_0])
+AC_CHECK_LIB([ftdi], [ftdi_usb_get_strings],
+             [have_libftdi=yes], [have_libftdi=no], [-lusb])
+LIBFTDI=""
+LIBFTDI1=""
+if test "x$have_libftdi1" = xyes; then
    LIBFTDI1="-lftdi1"
    AC_DEFINE([HAVE_LIBFTDI1])
-   AC_SUBST(LIBFTDI1, $LIBFTDI1)
+   AC_SUBST([LIBFTDI1])
    LIBS="${LIBS} ${LIBFTDI1}"
-   AC_CHECK_FUNCS(ftdi_tcioflush)
+   AC_CHECK_FUNCS([ftdi_tcioflush])
 else
-   if test x$have_libftdi = xyes; then
+   if test "x$have_libftdi" = xyes; then
       LIBFTDI="-lftdi -lusb"
       AC_DEFINE([HAVE_LIBFTDI])
-      AC_SUBST(LIBFTDI, $LIBFTDI)
-      AC_CHECK_DECL(TYPE_232H,[have_libftdi_FT232H=yes], [], [[#include <ftdi.h>]])
-      if test x$have_libftdi_FT232H = xyes; then
+      AC_SUBST([LIBFTDI])
+      AC_CHECK_DECL([TYPE_232H],
+        [have_libftdi_FT232H=yes],
+        [have_libftdi_FT232H=no],
+        [[#include <ftdi.h>]])
+      if test "x$have_libftdi_FT232H" = xyes; then
          AC_DEFINE([HAVE_LIBFTDI_TYPE_232H])
       fi
    fi
 fi
+
 AC_CHECK_HEADERS([pthread.h])
-# as there exits header file only pthread implementations for Windows, check if we have a library
-AC_CHECK_LIB([pthread], [pthread_create], [have_pthread=yes])
-if test x$have_pthread = xyes; then
+# as there exist header file only pthread implementations for Windows, check if we have a library
+AC_CHECK_LIB([pthread], [pthread_create], [have_pthread=yes], [have_pthread=no])
+LIBPTHREAD=""
+if test "x$have_pthread" = xyes; then
    LIBPTHREAD="-lpthread"
 fi
-AC_SUBST(LIBPTHREAD, $LIBPTHREAD)
+AC_SUBST([LIBPTHREAD])
+
 # Checks for header files.
 AC_CHECK_HEADERS([limits.h stdlib.h string.h])
 AC_CHECK_HEADERS([fcntl.h sys/ioctl.h sys/time.h termios.h unistd.h])
@@ -257,7 +315,7 @@ AC_CHECK_HEADERS([ddk/hidsdi.h],,,[#include <windows.h>
 
 # Checks for typedefs, structures, and compiler characteristics.
 AC_C_CONST
-AC_HEADER_TIME
+
 
 AC_CHECK_HEADERS([netinet/in.h])
 
@@ -266,6 +324,8 @@ AC_CHECK_FUNCS([memset select strcasecmp strdup strerror strncasecmp strtol strt
 
 AC_MSG_CHECKING([for a Win32 HID library])
 SAVED_LIBS="${LIBS}"
+LIBHID=""
+HIDINCLUDE=""
 case $target in
         *-*-mingw32* | *-*-cygwin* | *-*-windows*)
 		LIBHID="-lhid -lsetupapi"
@@ -279,10 +339,9 @@ LIBS="${LIBS} ${LIBHID}"
 
 AH_TEMPLATE([HAVE_LIBHID],
             [Define if HID support is enabled via the Win32 DDK])
-AC_TRY_LINK([#include <windows.h>
+AC_LINK_IFELSE([AC_LANG_PROGRAM([[#include <windows.h>
 #include <setupapi.h>
-$HIDINCLUDE],
-[int
+$HIDINCLUDE]], [[int
 main(void)
 {
     GUID hidGuid;
@@ -290,15 +349,15 @@ main(void)
 
     return 0;
 }
-], [have_libhid=yes], [have_libhid=no])
+]])], [have_libhid=yes], [have_libhid=no])
 AC_MSG_RESULT([$have_libhid])
-if test x$have_libhid = xyes; then
+if test "x$have_libhid" = xyes; then
    AC_DEFINE([HAVE_LIBHID])
 else
    LIBHID=""
 fi
 LIBS="${SAVED_LIBS}"
-AC_SUBST(LIBHID, $LIBHID)
+AC_SUBST([LIBHID])
 
 # Check for types
 
@@ -311,81 +370,74 @@ AC_CHECK_TYPES([ulong_t], [], [], [#include <sys/types.h>])
 
 AC_ARG_ENABLE(
 	[versioned-doc],
-	AC_HELP_STRING(
-		[--enable-versioned-doc],
-		[install docs in directory with version name (default)]),
+	AS_HELP_STRING([--enable-versioned-doc],
+	               [install docs in directory with version name (default)]),
 	[case "${enableval}" in
 		yes) versioned_doc=yes ;;
 		no)  versioned_doc=no ;;
-		*)   AC_MSG_ERROR(bad value ${enableval} for versioned-doc option) ;;
+		*)   AC_MSG_ERROR([bad value ${enableval} for versioned-doc option]) ;;
 		esac],
 	[versioned_doc=yes])
 
-if test "$versioned_doc" = "yes"; then
+if test "x$versioned_doc" = "xyes"; then
     DOC_INST_DIR='$(DESTDIR)$(datadir)/doc/avrdude-$(VERSION)'
 else
     DOC_INST_DIR='$(DESTDIR)$(datadir)/doc/avrdude'
 fi
+AC_SUBST([DOC_INST_DIR])
 
 AC_ARG_ENABLE(
 	[doc],
-	AC_HELP_STRING(
-		[--enable-doc],
-		[Enable building documents]),
+	AS_HELP_STRING([--enable-doc],
+	               [Enable building documents]),
 	[case "${enableval}" in
 		yes) enabled_doc=yes ;;
 		no)  enabled_doc=no ;;
-		*)   AC_MSG_ERROR(bad value ${enableval} for disable-doc option) ;;
+		*)   AC_MSG_ERROR([bad value ${enableval} for disable-doc option]) ;;
 		esac],
 	[enabled_doc=no])
 
 AC_ARG_ENABLE(
 	[parport],
-	AC_HELP_STRING(
-		[--enable-parport],
-		[Enable accessing parallel ports(default)]),
+	AS_HELP_STRING([--enable-parport],
+	               [Enable accessing parallel ports(default)]),
 	[case "${enableval}" in
 		yes) enabled_parport=yes ;;
 		no)  enabled_parport=no ;;
-		*)   AC_MSG_ERROR(bad value ${enableval} for enable-parport option) ;;
+		*)   AC_MSG_ERROR([bad value ${enableval} for enable-parport option]) ;;
 		esac],
 	[enabled_parport=no])
-	
+
 AC_ARG_ENABLE(
 	[linuxgpio],
-	AC_HELP_STRING(
-		[--enable-linuxgpio],
-		[Enable the Linux sysfs GPIO interface programmer type]),
+	AS_HELP_STRING([--enable-linuxgpio],
+	               [Enable the Linux sysfs GPIO interface programmer type]),
 	[case "${enableval}" in
 		yes) enabled_linuxgpio=yes ;;
 		no)  enabled_linuxgpio=no ;;
-		*)   AC_MSG_ERROR(bad value ${enableval} for enable-linuxgpio option) ;;
+		*)   AC_MSG_ERROR([bad value ${enableval} for enable-linuxgpio option]) ;;
 		esac],
 	[enabled_linuxgpio=no])	
 
 AC_ARG_ENABLE(
 	[linuxspi],
-	AC_HELP_STRING(
-		[--enable-linuxspi],
-		[Enable the Linux SPIDEV interface programmer type]),
+	AS_HELP_STRING([--enable-linuxspi],
+	               [Enable the Linux SPIDEV interface programmer type]),
 	[case "${enableval}" in
 		yes) enabled_linuxspi=yes ;;
 		no)  enabled_linuxspi=no ;;
-		*)   AC_MSG_ERROR(bad value ${enableval} for enable-linuxspi option) ;;
+		*)   AC_MSG_ERROR([bad value ${enableval} for enable-linuxspi option]) ;;
 		esac],
 	[enabled_linuxspi=no])
 
-DIST_SUBDIRS_AC='doc'
+AC_SUBST([DIST_SUBDIRS_AC], [doc])
 
-if test "$enabled_doc" = "yes"; then
+if test "x$enabled_doc" = xyes; then
 	SUBDIRS_AC='doc'
 else
 	SUBDIRS_AC=''
 fi
-
-AC_SUBST(DOC_INST_DIR, $DOC_INST_DIR)
-AC_SUBST(SUBDIRS_AC, $SUBDIRS_AC)
-AC_SUBST(DIST_SUBDIRS_AC, $DIST_SUBDIRS_AC)
+AC_SUBST([SUBDIRS_AC])
 
 
 # Find the parallel serial device files based on target system
@@ -428,50 +480,50 @@ case $target in
 		;;
 esac
 
-if test "$enabled_parport" = "yes"; then
+if test "x$enabled_parport" = xyes; then
 	AC_MSG_CHECKING([for parallel device])
-	if test "$DEFAULT_PAR_PORT" = "unknown"; then
+	if test "x$DEFAULT_PAR_PORT" = xunknown; then
 		AC_MSG_NOTICE([parallel port access disabled for this system])
 		enabled_parport=no
 	else
 		AC_MSG_RESULT([$DEFAULT_PAR_PORT])
 	fi
-	AC_SUBST(DEFAULT_PAR_PORT, $DEFAULT_PAR_PORT)
+	AC_SUBST([DEFAULT_PAR_PORT])
 fi
 
 AC_MSG_CHECKING([for serial device])
 AC_MSG_RESULT([$DEFAULT_SER_PORT])
-AC_SUBST(DEFAULT_SER_PORT, $DEFAULT_SER_PORT)
+AC_SUBST([DEFAULT_SER_PORT])
 
-if test "$enabled_parport" = "yes"; then
-	AC_DEFINE(HAVE_PARPORT, 1, [parallel port access enabled])
+if test "x$enabled_parport" = xyes; then
+	AC_DEFINE([HAVE_PARPORT], [1], [parallel port access enabled])
 	confsubst="-e /^@HAVE_PARPORT_/d"
 else
 	confsubst="-e /^@HAVE_PARPORT_BEGIN@/,/^@HAVE_PARPORT_END@/d"
 fi
 
 
-if test "$enabled_linuxgpio" = "yes"; then
+if test "x$enabled_linuxgpio" = xyes; then
 	AC_MSG_CHECKING([for default linuxgpio port])
-	if test "$DEFAULT_LINUXGPIO_PORT" = "unknown"; then
+	if test "x$DEFAULT_LINUXGPIO_PORT" = xunknown; then
 		AC_MSG_NOTICE([linuxgpio port access disabled for this system])
 		enabled_linuxgpio=no
 	else
 		AC_MSG_RESULT([$DEFAULT_LINUXGPIO_PORT])
 	fi
-	AC_SUBST(DEFAULT_LINUXGPIO_PORT, $DEFAULT_LINUXGPIO_PORT)
+	AC_SUBST([DEFAULT_LINUXGPIO_PORT])
 fi
 
-if test "$enabled_linuxgpio" = "yes"; then
-	AC_DEFINE(HAVE_LINUXGPIO, 1, [Linux sysfs GPIO support enabled])
+if test "x$enabled_linuxgpio" = xyes; then
+	AC_DEFINE([HAVE_LINUXGPIO], [1], [Linux sysfs GPIO support enabled])
 	confsubst="$confsubst -e /^@HAVE_LINUXGPIO_/d"
 else
 	confsubst="$confsubst -e /^@HAVE_LINUXGPIO_BEGIN@/,/^@HAVE_LINUXGPIO_END@/d"
 fi
 
 
-if test "$enabled_linuxspi" = "yes"; then
-	AC_DEFINE(HAVE_LINUXSPI, 1, [Linux SPI support enabled])
+if test "x$enabled_linuxspi" = xyes; then
+	AC_DEFINE([HAVE_LINUXSPI], [1], [Linux SPI support enabled])
 	confsubst="$confsubst -e /^@HAVE_LINUXSPI_/d"
 else
 	confsubst="$confsubst -e /^@HAVE_LINUXSPI_BEGIN@/,/^@HAVE_LINUXSPI_END@/d"
@@ -479,8 +531,9 @@ fi
 
 
 # If we are compiling with gcc, enable all warnings and make warnings errors.
-if test "$GCC" = yes; then
-    ENABLE_WARNINGS="-Wall -Wextra -Wno-unused-parameter"
+ENABLE_WARNINGS=""
+if test "x$GCC" = xyes; then
+	ENABLE_WARNINGS="-Wall -Wextra -Wno-unused-parameter"
 
 	# does this compiler support -Wno-pointer-sign ?
 	AC_MSG_CHECKING([if gcc accepts -Wno-pointer-sign ])
@@ -488,41 +541,45 @@ if test "$GCC" = yes; then
 	safe_CFLAGS=$CFLAGS
 	CFLAGS="$ENABLE_WARNINGS -Wno-pointer-sign"
 
-	AC_TRY_COMPILE(, [ int main () { return 0 ; } ], [
+	AC_COMPILE_IFELSE([
+		AC_LANG_PROGRAM([[]], [[ int main () { return 0 ; } ]])
+	], [dnl
 		no_pointer_sign=yes
-		AC_MSG_RESULT([yes]) 
-		], [
+		AC_MSG_RESULT([yes])
+	], [dnl
 		no_pointer_sign=no
-		AC_MSG_RESULT([no]) 
-		])
+		AC_MSG_RESULT([no])
+	])
 	CFLAGS=$safe_CFLAGS
 
-	if test x$no_pointer_sign = xyes; then
+	if test "x$no_pointer_sign" = xyes; then
 		ENABLE_WARNINGS="$ENABLE_WARNINGS -Wno-pointer-sign"
 	fi
 fi
-AC_SUBST(ENABLE_WARNINGS,$ENABLE_WARNINGS)
+AC_SUBST([ENABLE_WARNINGS])
 
 # See if we need to drop into the windows subdir.
 case $target in
         *-*-mingw32* | *-*-cygwin* | *-*-windows*)
-		if test "$GCC" = yes -a \( "$CC" = "cc" -o "$CC" = "gcc" \); then
+		if test "x$GCC" = xyes && test "x$CC" = xcc -o "x$CC" = xgcc; then
 			# does this compiler support -mno-cygwin?
 			AC_MSG_CHECKING([if $CC accepts -mno-cygwin])
 
 			safe_CFLAGS="$CFLAGS"
 			CFLAGS="$ENABLE_WARNINGS -mno-cygwin"
 
-			AC_TRY_COMPILE(, [ int main () { return 0 ; } ], [
+			AC_COMPILE_IFELSE([
+				AC_LANG_PROGRAM([[]], [[ int main () { return 0 ; } ]])
+			], [dnl
 				no_cygwin=yes
 				AC_MSG_RESULT([yes])
-				], [
+			], [dnl
 				no_cygwin=no
 				AC_MSG_RESULT([no])
-				])
+			])
 			CFLAGS="$safe_CFLAGS"
 
-			if test x$no_cygwin = xyes; then
+			if test "x$no_cygwin" = xyes; then
 				CFLAGS="${CFLAGS} -mno-cygwin"
 			else
 				AC_MSG_NOTICE([Your compiler does not understand the -mno-cygwin option.])
@@ -537,16 +594,18 @@ case $target in
 
 		safe_LDFLAGS="$LDFLAGS"
 		LDFLAGS="${LDFLAGS} -static"
-		AC_TRY_LINK(, [ int main () { return 0 ; } ], [
+		AC_LINK_IFELSE([
+			AC_LANG_PROGRAM([[]], [[ int main () { return 0 ; } ]])
+		], [dnl
 			can_link_static=yes
 			AC_MSG_RESULT([yes])
-			], [
-			can_link_static_cygwin=no
+		], [dnl
+			can_link_static=no
 			AC_MSG_RESULT([no])
-			])
+		])
 		LDFLAGS="$safe_LDFLAGS"
 
-		if test x$can_link_static = xyes; then
+		if test "x$can_link_static" = xyes; then
 			LDFLAGS="${LDFLAGS} -static"
 		fi
 
@@ -563,20 +622,7 @@ AC_CONFIG_FILES([
 AC_CONFIG_FILES([
        GNUmakefile
 ])
-dnl TODO: Add GIT_COMMIT_HASH to the AVRDUDE_FULL_VERSION like cmake build does
-dnl # Detect GIT
-dnl AC_ARG_VAR([GIT], [git revision control system])
-dnl AS_VAR_IF([GIT], [], [dnl
-dnl   AC_PATH_PROG([GIT], [git], [no])
-dnl ])
-dnl AM_CONDITIONAL([HAVE_GIT], [test "x$GIT" != xno])
-dnl AS_IF([test -d "../.git/info/exclude"], [dnl
-dnl   GIT_COMMIT_HASH="$(${GIT} --version)"
-dnl ])
-
-# Pass version number into avrdude.conf
-dnl AVRDUDE_FULL_VERSION="${PACKAGE_VERSION} (${GIT_COMMIT_HASH})"
-AC_SUBST([AVRDUDE_FULL_VERSION], ["$PACKAGE_VERSION"])
+
 
 # The procedure to create avrdude.conf involves two steps.  First,
 # normal autoconf substitution will be applied, resulting in
@@ -596,20 +642,20 @@ echo ""
 echo "Configuration summary:"
 echo "----------------------"
 
-if test x$have_libelf = xyes; then
+if test "x$have_libelf" = xyes; then
    echo "DO HAVE    libelf"
 else
    echo "DON'T HAVE libelf"
 fi
 
-if test x$have_libusb = xyes; then
+if test "x$have_libusb" = xyes; then
    echo "DO HAVE    libusb"
 else
    echo "DON'T HAVE libusb"
 fi
 
-if test x$have_libusb_1_0 = xyes; then
-   if test x$enabled_libusb_1_0 = xyes; then
+if test "x$have_libusb_1_0" = xyes; then
+   if test "x$enabled_libusb_1_0" = xyes; then
        echo "DO HAVE    libusb_1_0"
    else
        echo "DISABLED   libusb_1_0"
@@ -618,13 +664,13 @@ else
    echo "DON'T HAVE libusb_1_0"
 fi
 
-if test x$have_libftdi1 = xyes; then
+if test "x$have_libftdi1" = xyes; then
    echo "DO HAVE    libftdi1"
 else
    echo "DON'T HAVE libftdi1"
 fi
 
-if test x$have_libftdi = xyes; then
+if test "x$have_libftdi" = xyes; then
    if test x$have_libftdi1 = xyes; then
        echo "DO HAVE    libftdi (but prefer to use libftdi1)"
    else
@@ -634,55 +680,55 @@ else
    echo "DON'T HAVE libftdi"
 fi
 
-if test x$have_libhid = xyes; then
+if test "x$have_libhid" = xyes; then
    echo "DO HAVE    libhid"
 else
    echo "DON'T HAVE libhid"
 fi
 
-if test x$have_libhidapi = xyes; then
+if test "x$have_libhidapi" = xyes; then
    echo "DO HAVE    libhidapi"
 else
    echo "DON'T HAVE libhidapi"
 fi
 
-if test x$have_readline = xyes; then
+if test "x$have_libreadline" = xyes; then
    echo "DO HAVE    libreadline"
 else
    echo "DON'T HAVE libreadline"
 fi
 
-if test x$have_libserialport = xyes; then
+if test "x$have_libserialport" = xyes; then
    echo "DO HAVE    libserialport"
 else
    echo "DON'T HAVE libserialport"
 fi
 
-if test x$have_pthread = xyes; then
+if test "x$have_pthread" = xyes; then
    echo "DO HAVE    pthread"
 else
    echo "DON'T HAVE pthread"
 fi
 
-if test x$enabled_doc = xyes; then
+if test "x$enabled_doc" = xyes; then
    echo "ENABLED    doc"
 else
    echo "DISABLED   doc"
 fi
 
-if test x$enabled_parport = xyes; then
+if test "x$enabled_parport" = xyes; then
    echo "ENABLED    parport"
 else
    echo "DISABLED   parport"
 fi
 
-if test x$enabled_linuxgpio = xyes; then
+if test "x$enabled_linuxgpio" = xyes; then
    echo "ENABLED    linuxgpio"
 else
    echo "DISABLED   linuxgpio"
 fi
 
-if test x$enabled_linuxspi = xyes; then
+if test "x$enabled_linuxspi" = xyes; then
    echo "ENABLED    linuxspi"
 else
    echo "DISABLED   linuxspi"
diff --git a/src/main.c b/src/main.c
index fb2b73ae1..7debe44b2 100644
--- a/src/main.c
+++ b/src/main.c
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@
 #include "developer_opts.h"
 
 /* Get VERSION from ac_cfg.h */
-char * version      = VERSION;
+char * version      = AVRDUDE_FULL_VERSION;
 
 char * progname;
 char   progbuf[PATH_MAX]; /* temporary buffer of spaces the same