Question On BMP Support / libgd 2.1.0

We're developing an app with libgd and wound up needing to write out 
..bmp images.

I see that BMP support has been added in the 2.1 line of the library.

1) Can anyone give me a gut feeling as to how stable the 2.1 code is, 
and how long it might be before it is officially released?

2) I downloaded the 2.1, but it's missing the configure script needed to 
configure and set up the Makefiles.  Is there a different build process 
for the 2.1 line of the library that is different from the build steps 
in the current documentation.

Thanks in advance.

-- Leon