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16.3 Compiling For Multiple Architectures
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You can compile the package for more than one kind of computer at the
same time, by placing the object files for each system in their own
directory.  To do this, you can use GNU ‘make’.  ‘cd’ to the directory
where you want the object files and executables to go and run the
‘configure’ script.  ‘configure’ automatically checks for the source
code in the directory that ‘configure’ is in and in ‘..’.  This is known
as a “VPATH” build.

   With a non-GNU ‘make’, it is safer to compile the package for one
system at a time in the source code directory.  After you have installed
the package for one system, use ‘make distclean’ before reconfiguring
for another system.

   Some platforms, notably macOS, support "fat" or "universal" binaries,
where a single binary can execute on different architectures.  On these
platforms you can configure and compile just once, with options specific
to that platform.