Compiling programs, how is it done?

[Machine]

Hello, I'm a new Puppy user and have found that most programs I want to use need compiling first. How do I do this?

[L18L]

Hello, I'm a new Puppy user and have found that most programs I want to use need compiling first. How do I do this?

A good start would be to give us one concrete example: name the program and link to it.

[Karl Godt]

Hello, I'm a new Puppy user and have found that most programs I want to use need compiling first. How do I do this?

A good start would be to give us one concrete example: name the program and link to it.

Hey Lidl ! Don"t tell 'im to organize the puppy _devx_version.sfs first

[tytower]

Its amazing the runaround you get on forums

Compiling means downloading a source file in a compressed form
Expanding and saving that package somewhere

You need special tools to compile so you have to download the "devx.sfs" file for your puppy version first. It contains the compiler and necessary files.
When downloaded and saved you have to ensure it is loaded at bootup

Then open a rox filer and get to that saved source directory.
right click for a menue that says open window . open a terminal window there (that means the terminal is looking at the directory- type ls and you will see what it sees )

Then it is a matter of typing
./configure
make
make install

This will compile the program and put it on your machine if you get it right and if you have everything that it needs.

Its a complicated process if you are a starter
Far better to use a "pet" type program which has all you need and just whacks it on your machine - similar to ".exe" in windows

And the explanation can go on and on so you just have to read up on it al
Thats why questions like this don't get great answers - too much typing for us one finger typists --go readl

[Karl Godt]

Its amazing the runaround you get on forums

Compiling means downloading a source file in a compressed form
Expanding and saving that package somewhere

You need special tools to compile so you have to download the "devx.sfs" file for your puppy version first. It contains the compiler and necessary files.
When downloaded and saved you have to ensure it is loaded at bootup

Then open a rox filer and get to that saved source directory.
right click for a menue that says open window . open a terminal window there (that means the terminal is looking at the directory- type ls and you will see what it sees )

Then it is a matter of typing
./configure
make
make install

This will compile the program and put it on your machine if you get it right and if you have everything that it needs.

Its a complicated process if you are a starter
Far better to use a "pet" type program which has all you need and just whacks it on your machine - similar to ".exe" in windows

And the explanation can go on and on so you just have to read up on it al
Thats why questions like this don't get great answers - too much typing for us one finger typists --go readl

Wow, very good explanation !

Could be a sticky in the Compiling Section of this forum

[Machine]

Thanks for that efficient explanation. I will go digging for what I need. All I needed was a pointer.

[bwh1969]

Its amazing the runaround you get on forums

Compiling means downloading a source file in a compressed form
Expanding and saving that package somewhere

You need special tools to compile so you have to download the "devx.sfs" file for your puppy version first. It contains the compiler and necessary files.
When downloaded and saved you have to ensure it is loaded at bootup

Then open a rox filer and get to that saved source directory.
right click for a menue that says open window . open a terminal window there (that means the terminal is looking at the directory- type ls and you will see what it sees )

Then it is a matter of typing
./configure
make
make install

This will compile the program and put it on your machine if you get it right and if you have everything that it needs.

Its a complicated process if you are a starter
Far better to use a "pet" type program which has all you need and just whacks it on your machine - similar to ".exe" in windows

And the explanation can go on and on so you just have to read up on it al
Thats why questions like this don't get great answers - too much typing for us one finger typists --go readl

I think it perhaps is because the seasoned Puppy Linux user frequently forgets how technical Puppy is compared to other distros and other OS's.

I have tried many Linux's and I am a fan of the 'buntus, so anything Debian based I can figure out pretty quick. On the other hand, depending on the flavor of puppy, I cannot because I inherently do not understand the deeper details of where things need to be and in Puppy, there seem to be marked differences between the derivatives. In some versions, I could never figure out where the kernel source needed to be to build an ati or virtualbox module from the *.run packages.

When asking here, the answer is frequently brief and technical, and I have found that I need to be
1) way more specific of what I am trying to do, and what I think I have as far as a setup and hardware
2) Tell them where I am at technically with puppy. Noob, novice, advanced. I think I am somewhat of a novice here but in Debian distros, somewhat more advanced.

[L18L]

...
When asking here, the answer is frequently brief and technical, and I have found that I need to be
1) way more specific of what I am trying to do, and what I think I have as far as a setup and hardware
2) Tell them where I am at technically with puppy. Noob, novice, advanced. I think I am somewhat of a novice here but in Debian distros, somewhat more advanced.

+1

Good luck

[sfeeley]

A good start would be to give us one concrete example: name the program and link to it.

I would second this, but not for the reason L18L later said.

Rather, if you tell us what program you need, there's a pretty good chance that its been compiled for puppy already.

Did you check setup --> setup puppy --> puppy package manager?
When you did, did you use the configure option to add additional repositories and update the database?

Also, there are many many more .pets available on the forums. There are many ways to search the forums (see header post on beginnings page of the forum) but I merely like to type "puppy linux" and the name of the program I want into google. Usually I can find something.

No reason to re-invent the wheel.

If you're interested in compiling for puppy, this is a good place to start
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=35507

(.pet packages are the basic install format for puppy)

But again-- what programs did you want?

[Mercedes350se]

Following tytower's method I get:

# ./configure
checking for a BSD-compatible install... /usr/bin/ginstall -c
checking whether build environment is sane... yes
checking for gawk... gawk
checking whether make sets $(MAKE)... no
checking whether to enable maintainer-specific portions of Makefiles... no
checking build system type... i686-pc-linux-gnuoldld
checking host system type... i686-pc-linux-gnuoldld
checking for style of include used by make... none
checking for gcc... no
checking for cc... no
checking for cc... no
checking for cl... no
configure: error: no acceptable C compiler found in $PATH
See `config.log' for more details.

The program I am trying to install is gopdit-0.2.8 on a full install of 3.01.

Where to from here?

[jpeps]

Where to from here?

devx?

[sfeeley]

I was able to install gopdit 0.2.9

Method:

1) I'm using Lucid 5.28. (I know you're using an earlier puppy. I'm not sure if it will work easily with an earlier puppy, since I am using ubuntu/debian files which Puppy Lucid 5.28 can work with).

2) update the package manager to include ubuntu repositories. exit and restart package manager

3) use package manager to install qt3 (and all the dependencies that it automatically asks to install). Also libmpeg2. (see attached picture for list of all installed files)

4) install gopdit-0.2.9 ubuntu/debian package from gopdit's webpage http://gopdit.ath.cx/

5) start gopdit by opening a terminal and typing gopdit

There are other ways of doing this, I am sure. And hopefully somebody smarter than me can make either a .pet or .sfs (I never have much luck with either). There is a section of the forum where you can request pets. If you put a post there, maybe provide a link back to this thread. But hopefully this will help.

[Mercedes350se]

sfeeley,

Thank you for the steps. I have Macpup LiveCD so will try that way.

UPDATE

jpeps,

I decided, at least in the short term, to persist with 3.01.

Found and downloaded devx_301.sfs

Searched and found how to extract and copy the files.

Making progress but now I get at the end of ./configure

checking for Qt... yes:
QT_CXXFLAGS=-I/usr/lib/qt-3.3.8/include -DQT_THREAD_SUPPORT
QT_DIR=/usr/lib/qt-3.3.8
QT_LIBS=-L/usr/lib/qt-3.3.8/lib -lqt-mt -lSM -lICE -L/usr/X11R6/lib -lX11 -lXext -lXmu -lXt -lXi
QT_UIC=/usr/lib/qt-3.3.8/bin/uic
QT_MOC=/usr/lib/qt-3.3.8/bin/moc
checking correct functioning of Qt installation... failure
configure: error: Failed to find matching components of a complete
Qt installation. Try using more options,
see ./configure --help.

Oh dear!

[jpeps]

Oh dear!

Well..at least you know what the problem is...QT. QT is complex. Some apps require QT4, and then you might need something like qt-dev-tools, qt-config, et al. You can also check ./configure --help, which might give some options or directions.

[Karl Godt]

see ./configure --help.

[sfeeley]

it looks like there is a qt package for puppy 3

http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/dis ... ackages-3/

not sure where to get the libmpeg2.

Why staying with puppy 3?

[Mercedes350se]

sfeeley,

The reason that I like 3.01 is that, on the face of it, it seems to have advantages over macpup 5.2.8 however ...

Please see my thread "Macpup questions".

PS. I managed to get gopdit-0.2.9 installed in macpup 5.2.8. I haven't tried to edit anything yet!