Re: [COMP] Installing programs in Linux

> Whenever I wish to install a program in Linux, I usually use the package
> manager for the particular distribution, pkgtool for slackware, dselect or
> dpkg for Debian, or RPM for RedHat.  This allows me to easily add programs
> to my computer and deinstall them later if I don't want them anymore.  But,
> what about programs that don't come in a package format.  I've downloaded
> programs usually in *.tar.gz format and I unpack them, read the readme,
> compile the source and run some makefile to install the program.  This
> always caused problems.  Either I don't have the right development libraries
> or some other error always occurs.

Here's where you have to read in the README, INSTALL, or on the program's site
about what dependencies the program has.  There's also the configure shell
script, which comes with most source packages.  It's purpose is to setup the
Makefile (the config file that 'make' uses when compiling) by checking the
dependencies for you.  Usually, you can get deb, tgz, or rpm packages for these
libraries, and they install nicely.  Once you get about a dozen of these,
you'll probably not have to install/upgrade them for a long time.  Everything
should compile nicely then.


>  If I am successful in compiling and
> installing the program, there's usually no way to uninstall it.  Isn't there
> an easier way to do this?  Am I missing something about the way programs are
> distributed for Linux?  What's the best way to install programs that are not
> distributed as packages?

This can get to be a problem, but usually, since compiled-from-source programs
are so small, I let most of them sit there, even if I'm not using them.  That's
something you can't get away with certain other OS's. :)  Furthermore, with the
larger packages, you usually have a 'make uninstall' option, just like 'make
install,' which installs the program.  If it _really_ gets to be a problem, you
can go 'type <programname>' to find the location of the executable, and simply
delete it.

John



--
# John Madden  weez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx ICQ: 2EB9EA
# Sys-Admin / Webmaster, Avenir Web: http://avenir.dhs.org
# LANdb: Network Admin Database - http://avenir.dhs.org/landb/
# "A kernel compile a day keeps the blue screens away."



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