diff --git a/build/aclocal/bakefile.m4 b/build/aclocal/bakefile.m4
index 6fe4dcdead..66e3d5f204 100644
--- a/build/aclocal/bakefile.m4
+++ b/build/aclocal/bakefile.m4
@@ -430,8 +430,7 @@ AC_DEFUN([AC_BAKEFILE_SHARED_LD],
       ;;
 
       *)
-        dnl wxWidgets specific: allow unknown unix systems
-        dnl AC_MSG_ERROR(unknown system type $BAKEFILE_HOST.)
+        AC_MSG_ERROR(unknown system type $BAKEFILE_HOST.)
     esac
 
     if test "x$PIC_FLAG" != "x" ; then
@@ -522,6 +521,7 @@ AC_DEFUN([AC_BAKEFILE_DEPS],
     
     AC_MSG_CHECKING([for dependency tracking method])
 
+    BK_DEPS=""
     if test "x$bk_use_trackdeps" = "xno" ; then
         DEPS_TRACKING=0
         AC_MSG_RESULT([disabled])
@@ -569,10 +569,14 @@ AC_DEFUN([AC_BAKEFILE_DEPS],
         if test $DEPS_TRACKING = 1 ; then
             AC_BAKEFILE_CREATE_FILE_BK_DEPS
             chmod +x bk-deps
+            dnl FIXME: make this $(top_builddir)/bk-deps once autoconf-2.60
+            dnl        is required (and so top_builddir is never empty):
+            BK_DEPS="`pwd`/bk-deps"
         fi
     fi
 
     AC_SUBST(DEPS_TRACKING)
+    AC_SUBST(BK_DEPS)
 ])
 
 dnl ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -591,7 +595,19 @@ AC_DEFUN([AC_BAKEFILE_CHECK_BASIC_STUFF],
     AC_PROG_MAKE_SET
     AC_SUBST(MAKE_SET)
     
-    AC_CHECK_TOOL(AR, ar, ar)
+    if test "x$SUNCXX" = "xyes"; then
+        dnl Sun C++ compiler requires special way of creating static libs;
+        dnl see here for more details:
+        dnl https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&atid=109863&aid=1229751&group_id=9863
+        AR=$CXX
+        AC_SUBST(AR)
+        AROPTIONS="-xar -o"
+    else
+        AC_CHECK_TOOL(AR, ar, ar)
+        AROPTIONS=rcu
+    fi
+    AC_SUBST(AROPTIONS)
+
     AC_CHECK_TOOL(STRIP, strip, :)
     AC_CHECK_TOOL(NM, nm, :)
 
@@ -601,7 +617,10 @@ AC_DEFUN([AC_BAKEFILE_CHECK_BASIC_STUFF],
             dnl use it there
             INSTALL_DIR="mkdir -p"
             ;;
-        *)  INSTALL_DIR="$INSTALL -d"
+        * )
+            dnl we must refer to makefile's $(INSTALL) variable and not
+            dnl current value of shell variable, hence the single quoting:
+            INSTALL_DIR='$(INSTALL) -d'
             ;;
     esac
     AC_SUBST(INSTALL_DIR)
@@ -657,6 +676,7 @@ AC_DEFUN([AC_BAKEFILE_PRECOMP_HEADERS],
     GCC_PCH=0
     ICC_PCH=0
     USE_PCH=0
+    BK_MAKE_PCH=""
 
     case ${BAKEFILE_HOST} in 
         *-*-cygwin* )
@@ -710,12 +730,17 @@ AC_DEFUN([AC_BAKEFILE_PRECOMP_HEADERS],
                 USE_PCH=1
                 AC_BAKEFILE_CREATE_FILE_BK_MAKE_PCH
                 chmod +x bk-make-pch
+                dnl FIXME: make this $(top_builddir)/bk-make-pch once
+                dnl        autoconf-2.60 is required (and so top_builddir is
+                dnl        never empty):
+                BK_MAKE_PCH="`pwd`/bk-make-pch"
             fi
         fi
     fi
 
     AC_SUBST(GCC_PCH)
     AC_SUBST(ICC_PCH)
+    AC_SUBST(BK_MAKE_PCH)
 ])
 
 
@@ -743,7 +768,7 @@ dnl ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 AC_DEFUN([AC_BAKEFILE],
 [
-    AC_PREREQ(2.58)
+    AC_PREREQ([2.58])
 
     if test "x$BAKEFILE_HOST" = "x"; then
                if test "x${host}" = "x" ; then