Linux Mint Forums

spdaniel9q,

As a brand new Linux user, (you must be or you wouldn't have had insurmountable problems with sound on Ubuntu), why would you want to compile your own programs from source anyway? There are very few programs out there that aren't in a repository somewhere or, if you look, you can't find an appropriate .deb file to use elsewhere. If you are compiling something so new that it hasn't even been packaged yet, you are playing with fire. And you should expect breakage and bugs.

If you want to learn to compile, that's great, but you don't need a GUI to do it. In fact, you will learn more about what you are actually doing without a GUI.

Fred

spdaniel9q,

Gosh, my memory is failing me ... again. Yes I think flash was already installed, but I am not sure. If it wasn't installed, it certainly wasn't a problem doing so or I would remember. I know I didn't have to compile it.

Fred

At least a helpfile for compiling would be nice.

I think spdaniel9q has expressed something that a lot of other users are thinking of suggesting.
Yes,an automatic program for installing .tar.gz and .tar.gz2 packages would most certainly prove to be very useful and time-saving.
There also exist some tar packages that cannot be compiled through the standard procedures,something that can be rather tiresome for those who are willing to give compiling a try.

Dear developers,give it some thought.
I strongly believe it would bring a lot of people to Linux.

Really, I am trying to understand. Help me here. There are over 25,000 programs and libraries already set up for Ubuntu and derivatives in the Ubuntu repositories alone. There are thousands of additional .deb programs in the Debian repositories. The .deb package is probably the most common package out there, with the possible exception of the .rpm. Not sure which there are more of. You can find a .deb package for just about anything that is available. If that isn't enough you can use the Alien package installer and add .rpms and several others to the mix.

I can understand if you want to learn to compile from source as a learning experience. If thats the case, you don't want a GUI. You want to be able to see what you are doing. What you seem to be saying is; I want to learn to do long division, but I want to use a calculator instead of pencil and paper to do it.

I just don't get it. Just doesn't compute for me.

Fred

I think what the original poster here is saying is that he wants to learn to compile, but his skill level requires him to need a GUI. That being said I have yet to be in a situation where I've had to resort to learning to compile. I have always been able to find a ready made package for the things I want. I have however had to convert .rpm to .deb when a .deb version did not exist. Alien is a fantastic tool for this as was already stated, although it does not always work 100%. A great example of a program I converted from .rpm is 4L (LaCie LightScribe Labeler). I was not able to find a .deb version of this anywhere, but Alien had no issue converting it to .deb, and I now use it to burn all of my lightscribe labels.