RE: Compiling for dummies

[Herman Roozenbeek <hermanr mailroom com>]

On 02-Nov-99 Mark M. Wilson wrote:
> Warning: this is more general than specific to Gnome hacking:
> As an ex-Windows user (well, that's not quite true, I'm still forced to
> use it at work until I can get my own machine) and *especially* as a non
> programmer, I'm new to a lot of this Gnome and Linux stuff.  My question
> is this: is there an any advantage to my trying to compile apps myself
> from these tarballs?  Why would someone (again, a non programmer) do
> this unless they were going to customize certain attributes? (are there
> some apps that are only available as source tarballs, thus forcing a
> newbie to take that dive?) And can anyone suggest simple apps to start
> with that would be instructive in learning the various languages? In
> other words, are there any earthworms, frogs, or fetal pigs to dissect
> before I try my hand at brain surgery?

>From one newbie to another: compiling Gnome programs from the tarballs is not
that difficult... Mostly, it's just configure, make, and make install (as root).
So I would hardly call that a dive. It takes somewhat more time (not too much)
than installing from RPM's, but it will allow you to run the latest apps just a
few hours sooner... ;-) For me, I can hardly wait to get my hands on the latest
releases! (Without "diving" into CVS, that is...)
And when you compile from source, you remain in control, which can be handy if
your system is not set up in a way the RPM's may expect...

After this, and after giving my compliments to the entire Gnome team, there is
one question I'd like to ask... :-)

I'm just learning to write Gnome apps (nothing too fancy yet) and I'm
desperately seeking for good documentation, like API descriptions. I've found
some really useful stuff at developer.gnome.org, but as far as I could see, not
all documentation is available for download (just available online). Am I
looking in all the wrong places?

Thanks in advance, 

Herman


----------------------------------
Herman Roozenbeek, The Hague (NL)
E-Mail: Herman Roozenbeek <hermanr@mailroom.com>
Date: 03-Nov-99, 00:41:37