=head1 SYNOPSIS
-B<dh_auto_build> [S<I<debhelper options>>] [S<B<--> I<params>>]
+B<dh_auto_build> [S<I<build system options>>] [S<I<debhelper options>>] [S<B<--> I<params>>]
=head1 DESCRIPTION
-dh_auto_build is a debhelper program that tries to automatically
-build a package. If a Makefile is found, this is done by running make (or
-MAKE, if the environment variable is set).
-If there's a setup.py, or Build.PL, it is run to build the package.
+dh_auto_build is a debhelper program that tries to automatically build a
+package. It does so by running the appropriate command for the build system
+it detects the package uses. For example, if a Makefile is found, this is
+done by running make (or MAKE, if the environment variable is set). If
+there's a setup.py, or Build.PL, it is run to build the package.
This is intended to work for about 90% of packages. If it doesn't work,
you're encouraged to skip using dh_auto_build at all, and just run the
=head1 OPTIONS
+See L<debhelper(7)/BUILD SYSTEM OPTIONS> for a list of common build
+system selection and control options.
+
=over 4
=item B<--> I<params>