Not quite true makepkg only builds a PACKAGE it dosn't compile the source you would usually use a slackbuild script to configure and make the software and also run makepkg, once the package is made and installed you canthen use the pacvkage manager to manipulate it ie upgrade remove etc.

To find out a bit more about slackbuild scripts etc goto
http://slackbuilds.org/

Slackbuild scripts do the compiling, and also run makepkg, everything configured in a generic and convenient way. This is one option. Since the op is used to compiling manually, and seems to want to take that path, he can continue to do so and then run makepkg and then installpkg, instead of make, and make install; to complete the process in a convenient way.

Didn't I just say that?

I'm not saying the failure is because of Fedora. I have no programming experience and have only started to compile software after using linux so unless the software is in active development and has easy dependencies then I will most likely have problems.

fedora is such a FAST moving os and uses a VERY VERY VERY new versions of gcc and other software, that most software programs would need to be hacked to build on the current fedora .

if you google the error from the gcc linker ( the most common issue )
you will likely find the solution

On Slackware, src2pkg compiles from source and makes packages. Very useful.

Ok but then after you install that package I'm assuming it won't work on the first try due to dependency errors.

The arch build system is good for this because it compiles from source and track dependencies, sort of like gentoo I guess but without all of the recursive keyword/useflag/masking hell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaPWwyC6CDI
:rolleyes:

Are those RPM sites even legitimate? Why are there multiples? Which one's the best for fedora? I'm assuming the RPMs I manually install could break at anytime if yum updates any of the dependencies right? How should I manage manually installed RPMs?

Rpmfusion carries software that Fedora can't for licensing or legal considerations. It's legit, it's widely used by members of the Fedora community, and it may be just what you need. On the other hand, maybe Fedora isn't the distro for you - it moves quickly, releases are only supported for about 12 months, and breakage is not uncommon. It works for me; YMMV

I mean sites like rpmbone or rpmfind. I've gotten some packages from there but I usually have to manually resolve the dependencies.