INSTALL file not present, cannot install

[Nekkowe]

In the Readme, the install instructions are delegated to a file that is not in the repo, but listed in .gitignore instead:
See the file INSTALL for configure, build and install details.
Also in the .gitignore are configure and Makefile.
As it stands, I have no idea how to build and install libnfc from source.

[Nekkowe]

Since there is no configure or makefile present, the build instructions of

It should be as simple as running these two commands:
./configure
make

also do not work.

[LudovicRousseau]

You can use the autoreconf command to create the configure script.
The released .tar.bz2 archive already contains the configure script.

Or you can use cmake . if you prefer to use cmake.

[abathur8bit]

Running on a Raspberry PI with Rasbain, fresh clone, autoreconf generates a the following errors. It generated a configure script, but trying to run it produces

configure: error: cannot find install-sh, install.sh, or shtool in "." "./.." "./../.."

Running autoreconf:

pi@mikey:~/workspace/nfc/libnfc$ autoreconf
configure.ac:17: error: required file './ar-lib' not found
configure.ac:17:   'automake --add-missing' can install 'ar-lib'
configure.ac:17: error: required file './compile' not found
configure.ac:17:   'automake --add-missing' can install 'compile'
configure.ac:16: error: required file './install-sh' not found
configure.ac:16:   'automake --add-missing' can install 'install-sh'
configure.ac:16: error: required file './missing' not found
configure.ac:16:   'automake --add-missing' can install 'missing'
examples/Makefile.am: error: required file './depcomp' not found
examples/Makefile.am:   'automake --add-missing' can install 'depcomp'
libnfc/Makefile.am:6: error: Libtool library used but 'LIBTOOL' is undefined
libnfc/Makefile.am:6:   The usual way to define 'LIBTOOL' is to add 'LT_INIT'
libnfc/Makefile.am:6:   to 'configure.ac' and run 'aclocal' and 'autoconf' again.
libnfc/Makefile.am:6:   If 'LT_INIT' is in 'configure.ac', make sure
libnfc/Makefile.am:6:   its definition is in aclocal's search path.
libnfc/buses/Makefile.am:4: error: Libtool library used but 'LIBTOOL' is undefined
libnfc/buses/Makefile.am:4:   The usual way to define 'LIBTOOL' is to add 'LT_INIT'
libnfc/buses/Makefile.am:4:   to 'configure.ac' and run 'aclocal' and 'autoconf' again.
libnfc/buses/Makefile.am:4:   If 'LT_INIT' is in 'configure.ac', make sure
libnfc/buses/Makefile.am:4:   its definition is in aclocal's search path.
libnfc/chips/Makefile.am:5: error: Libtool library used but 'LIBTOOL' is undefined
libnfc/chips/Makefile.am:5:   The usual way to define 'LIBTOOL' is to add 'LT_INIT'
libnfc/chips/Makefile.am:5:   to 'configure.ac' and run 'aclocal' and 'autoconf' again.
libnfc/chips/Makefile.am:5:   If 'LT_INIT' is in 'configure.ac', make sure
libnfc/chips/Makefile.am:5:   its definition is in aclocal's search path.
libnfc/drivers/Makefile.am:4: error: Libtool library used but 'LIBTOOL' is undefined
libnfc/drivers/Makefile.am:4:   The usual way to define 'LIBTOOL' is to add 'LT_INIT'
libnfc/drivers/Makefile.am:4:   to 'configure.ac' and run 'aclocal' and 'autoconf' again.
libnfc/drivers/Makefile.am:4:   If 'LT_INIT' is in 'configure.ac', make sure
libnfc/drivers/Makefile.am:4:   its definition is in aclocal's search path.
test/Makefile.am:21: error: Libtool library used but 'LIBTOOL' is undefined
test/Makefile.am:21:   The usual way to define 'LIBTOOL' is to add 'LT_INIT'
test/Makefile.am:21:   to 'configure.ac' and run 'aclocal' and 'autoconf' again.
test/Makefile.am:21:   If 'LT_INIT' is in 'configure.ac', make sure
test/Makefile.am:21:   its definition is in aclocal's search path.
parallel-tests: error: required file './test-driver' not found
parallel-tests:   'automake --add-missing' can install 'test-driver'
utils/Makefile.am:15: error: Libtool library used but 'LIBTOOL' is undefined
utils/Makefile.am:15:   The usual way to define 'LIBTOOL' is to add 'LT_INIT'
utils/Makefile.am:15:   to 'configure.ac' and run 'aclocal' and 'autoconf' again.
utils/Makefile.am:15:   If 'LT_INIT' is in 'configure.ac', make sure
utils/Makefile.am:15:   its definition is in aclocal's search path.
autoreconf: automake failed with exit status: 1

[LudovicRousseau]

You should use https://github.com/nfc-tools/libnfc/releases/download/libnfc-1.8.0/libnfc-1.8.0.tar.bz2 available from https://github.com/nfc-tools/libnfc/releases

This archive already contains the configure script.

[davet2001]

Please can the github README.md be updated, to say something more helpful?

I agree that autoreconf is a valid way of generating the configure script. But README.md needs to at least give people a clue, and when people look at github they are not looking at the content of the tar.gz release.

E.g. directly under the Installation title:

Note: If working directly from a git clone of the repository, some of the files need to be generated first. Run
autoreconf <parameters, etc>
or use
[link to tar.gz download]

[LudovicRousseau]

@davet2001 please propose a pull request.

[tombolinux]

You can use the autoreconf command to create the configure script.
The released .tar.bz2 archive already contains the configure script.

Or you can use cmake . if you prefer to use cmake.

for my hardware: pn532 on raspberrypi0
After untar the archive:
cd libnfc-libnfc-1.8.0
mkdir /etc/nfc
mkdir /etc/nfc/devices.d
cp contrib/libnfc/pn532_uart_on_rpi.conf.sample /etc/nfc/devices.d/pn532_uart_on_rpi.conf
autoreconf -i
vi /etc/nfc/devices.d/pn532_uart_on_rpi.conf
add the following line
allow_intrusive_scan = true then
./configure --sysconfdir=/etc --prefix=/usr
make
make install all