[tex-live] time to compile

[Karl Berry]

    - the old nightmare with autoconf version. Could someone please remind me
    how to get around it?

       /bin/sh /usr/local/tex/TeX/utils/texinfo/missing --run automake-1.6 --gnu  Makefile
       cd . && /bin/sh /usr/local/tex/TeX/utils/texinfo/missing --run autoconf
       configure.ac:12: error: Autoconf version 2.54 or higher is required

This is a true statement, Texinfo does need autoconf 2.54 or higher.
Actually 2.57.

The question is, why is autoconf getting rerun at all.  All I can
surmise is the file timestamps are wrong in perforce.  It never happens
for me when I just unpack the original texinfo distribution and say
configure && make.

I also don't understand why this happens with texinfo and not with
anything else.  I am not doing anything special in the texinfo distribution.