patch -Np1 -i ../fam-dnotify.patch : This patch causes FAM to use the Linux kernel dnotify mechanism to inform the calling process of file modifications, rather than polling the file system for modifications. patch -Np1 -i ../fam-gcc3.patch : This patch is necessary to get FAM to compile with gcc-&gcc-version;. libtoolize --force aclocal automake --add-missing autoconf These commands are necessary since the patches affect the configure.in file. They regenerate a new configure command with the necessary changes.