--- a/tclconfig/tcl.m4
+++ b/tclconfig/tcl.m4
@@ -731,6 +731,50 @@
 ])
 
 #--------------------------------------------------------------------
+# TEA_CONFIG_SYSTEM
+#
+#	Determine what the system is (some things cannot be easily checked
+#	on a feature-driven basis, alas). This can usually be done via the
+#	"uname" command, but there are a few systems, like Next, where
+#	this doesn't work.
+#
+# Arguments:
+#	none
+#
+# Results:
+#	Defines the following var:
+#
+#	system -	System/platform/version identification code.
+#
+#--------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+AC_DEFUN(TEA_CONFIG_SYSTEM, [
+    AC_MSG_CHECKING([system version])
+    AC_CACHE_VAL(tcl_cv_sys_version,[
+	if test -f /usr/lib/NextStep/software_version; then
+	    tcl_cv_sys_version=NEXTSTEP-`awk '/3/,/3/' /usr/lib/NextStep/software_version`
+	else
+	    tcl_cv_sys_version=`uname -s`-`uname -r`
+	    if test "$?" -ne 0 ; then
+		AC_MSG_WARN([can't find uname command])
+		tcl_cv_sys_version=unknown
+	    else
+		# Special check for weird MP-RAS system (uname returns weird
+		# results, and the version is kept in special file).
+
+		if test -r /etc/.relid -a "X`uname -n`" = "X`uname -s`" ; then
+		    tcl_cv_sys_version=MP-RAS-`awk '{print $3}' /etc/.relid`
+		fi
+		if test "`uname -s`" = "AIX" ; then
+		    tcl_cv_sys_version=AIX-`uname -v`.`uname -r`
+		fi
+	    fi
+	fi])
+    AC_MSG_RESULT($tcl_cv_sys_version)
+    system=$tcl_cv_sys_version
+])
+
+#--------------------------------------------------------------------
 # TEA_CONFIG_CFLAGS
 #
 #	Try to determine the proper flags to pass to the compiler
@@ -849,30 +893,7 @@
     # for the system.  This can usually be done via the "uname" command, but
     # there are a few systems, like Next, where this doesn't work.
 
-    AC_MSG_CHECKING([system version (for dynamic loading)])
-    if test -f /usr/lib/NextStep/software_version; then
-	system=NEXTSTEP-`awk '/3/,/3/' /usr/lib/NextStep/software_version`
-    else
-	system=`uname -s`-`uname -r`
-	if test "$?" -ne 0 ; then
-	    AC_MSG_RESULT([unknown (can't find uname command)])
-	    system=unknown
-	else
-	    # Special check for weird MP-RAS system (uname returns weird
-	    # results, and the version is kept in special file).
-	
-	    if test -r /etc/.relid -a "X`uname -n`" = "X`uname -s`" ; then
-		system=MP-RAS-`awk '{print $3}' /etc/.relid'`
-	    fi
-	    if test "`uname -s`" = "AIX" ; then
-		system=AIX-`uname -v`.`uname -r`
-	    fi
-	    if test "${TEA_PLATFORM}" = "windows" ; then
-		system=windows
-	    fi
-	    AC_MSG_RESULT([$system])
-	fi
-    fi
+    TEA_CONFIG_SYSTEM
 
     # Step 2: check for existence of -ldl library.  This is needed because
     # Linux can use either -ldl or -ldld for dynamic loading.
@@ -2318,25 +2339,8 @@
 AC_DEFUN(TEA_BLOCKING_STYLE, [
     AC_CHECK_HEADERS(sys/ioctl.h)
     AC_CHECK_HEADERS(sys/filio.h)
+    TEA_CONFIG_SYSTEM
     AC_MSG_CHECKING([FIONBIO vs. O_NONBLOCK for nonblocking I/O])
-    if test -f /usr/lib/NextStep/software_version; then
-	system=NEXTSTEP-`awk '/3/,/3/' /usr/lib/NextStep/software_version`
-    else
-	system=`uname -s`-`uname -r`
-	if test "$?" -ne 0 ; then
-	    system=unknown
-	else
-	    # Special check for weird MP-RAS system (uname returns weird
-	    # results, and the version is kept in special file).
-	
-	    if test -r /etc/.relid -a "X`uname -n`" = "X`uname -s`" ; then
-		system=MP-RAS-`awk '{print $3}' /etc/.relid'`
-	    fi
-	    if test "`uname -s`" = "AIX" ; then
-		system=AIX-`uname -v`.`uname -r`
-	    fi
-	fi
-    fi
     case $system in
 	# There used to be code here to use FIONBIO under AIX.  However, it
 	# was reported that FIONBIO doesn't work under AIX 3.2.5.  Since
@@ -3031,13 +3035,13 @@
     fi
     if test "${exec_prefix}" = "NONE" -a x"${prefix_default}" = x"yes" \
 	-o x"${exec_prefix_default}" = x"yes" ; then
-	#if test x"${TCL_EXEC_PREFIX}" != x; then
-	    #AC_MSG_NOTICE([--exec-prefix defaulting to TCL_EXEC_PREFIX ${TCL_EXEC_PREFIX}])
-	    #exec_prefix=${TCL_EXEC_PREFIX}
-	#else
+	if test x"${TCL_EXEC_PREFIX}" != x; then
+	    AC_MSG_NOTICE([--exec-prefix defaulting to TCL_EXEC_PREFIX ${TCL_EXEC_PREFIX}])
+	    exec_prefix=${TCL_EXEC_PREFIX}
+	else
 	    AC_MSG_NOTICE([--exec-prefix defaulting to ${prefix}])
 	    exec_prefix=$prefix
-	#fi
+	fi
     fi
 ])
 
@@ -3169,7 +3173,7 @@
 	MAKE_STUB_LIB="\${STLIB_LD} -out:\[$]@ \$(PKG_STUB_OBJECTS)"
     else
 	MAKE_STATIC_LIB="\${STLIB_LD} \[$]@ \$(PKG_OBJECTS)"
-	MAKE_SHARED_LIB="\${SHLIB_LD} -o \[$]@ \$(PKG_OBJECTS) \${SHLIB_LD_LIBS}"
+	MAKE_SHARED_LIB="\${SHLIB_LD} -Wl,-soname=\[$]@ -o \[$]@ \$(PKG_OBJECTS) \${SHLIB_LD_LIBS}"
 	MAKE_STUB_LIB="\${STLIB_LD} \[$]@ \$(PKG_STUB_OBJECTS)"
     fi
 
@@ -3817,7 +3821,8 @@
 
 	    # check in a few common install locations
 	    if test x"${ac_cv_c_$1config}" = x ; then
-		for i in `ls -d ${exec_prefix}/lib 2>/dev/null` \
+		for i in `ls -d ${libdir} 2>/dev/null` \
+			`ls -d ${exec_prefix}/lib 2>/dev/null` \
 			`ls -d ${prefix}/lib 2>/dev/null` \
 			`ls -d /usr/local/lib 2>/dev/null` \
 			`ls -d /usr/contrib/lib 2>/dev/null` \