Compiling in /usr/local/src
 

I have read somewhere that I should compile in /usr/local/src but I've had some success in compiling in my /root directory. Will some programs just not compile anywhere else?

Re: Compiling in /usr/local/src
 

I have never heard this. The only thing I have ever heard about compiling in a specific directory was an email I read from Linus Torvalds about not compiling kernels in the /usr/src directory, but that was a very old email. I've been compiling kernels in /usr/src for years, and other code in many other directories, without issue.

Does your statement "I've had some success in compiling in my /root directory" mean you are compiling as root, or did you mean you are compiling in the root of your user's home directory? You do not have to be root to compile anything, except a kernel if you are compiling in /usr/src, and even then you should be su'd to root, not actually logged in as root.

For applications you download yourself as additions to your system, the suggested place (I believe) to download and compile them is /usr/local/src. That will place all the files in the appropriate places in the /usr/local tree. That doesn't mean that you're not allowed to compile things in other places, and, as Sargek said above, sometimes the suggested place is somewhere else, like /usr/src for the kernel or maybe even ~/src for your own code. I suppose technically you could put anything in any directory and then just put a lot of work into making sure everything can find all its required libraries and such, but it helps organize your system to follow the directory structure.

This is true - I've just never compiled anything in a system area - always used my home dir, because you should not have to be root to compile, and this gets noobs out of the habit of running as root. I always specifiy configure optiions when I compile anyway:
Or wherever you would like the compiled binary to be installed. I always install in /opt, but that's a hold-over from my CRUX days. /usr/local is fine too.

It doesn't make any difference where you compile source code. I tend to use /usr/local/src, I keep tarballs in /usr/local/src/Arc and I put compiled packages in /usr/local/src/Packages (in case I need to reinstall something). But it doesn't matter. You can compile anywhere.

The directory used to compile and the directory tree the package will reside in are totally unrelated.

I never compile anything as root. I just chown /usr/src to my uid. The only thing I can thing of that needs to be compiled as root is svgalib.

True, but it makes more sense to me to do the compiling in the same tree I'll be installing to rather than having to remember to pass prefixes to ./configure every time. Either way is fine, though.

Why do you need to use a prefix ?

The majority of packages install in /usr/local, so unless you want to install somewhere else, you don't need a prefix. Where you compile the src is irrelevant.

Never thought about that, just assumed it worked that way since I've always done it in /usr/local/src. Either way, I still like to put things in the directory where they seem to logically belong, but whatever makes most sense to the person who's doing the compiling... Linux is all about flexibility.

Agreed. I tend to compile the kernel (and third party modules etc) in /usr/src, my own src in ~/src and everything else in /usr/local/src. But it makes no difference to the src.

usr
 

I assumed since you mentioned you compiled in /usr/src, you were doing so as root. I am a security nut and never change any permissions outside of my /home dir, so have a build directory in my /home dir where I compile things I need to. I use Gentoo, so it is quite rare for me to install something that is not contained in Portage, but when I do, I always install in /opt. As I mentioned, the /opt thing is a CRUX hold-over, but it's in my path so works like a champ. Personal preference.

No, I chown /usr/src to my uid. Dunno why really, I could just use ~ or /usr/local/src, I've just always used /usr/src for the kernel.