Friends,

This question asks where can I find more information about installing and maintaining installed software. Most software I download with apt-get. I guess this means that the software (postgresql 9.1, Grass, Qgis, R, postgis) has been compiled for my distro.

However, if I am asked to confirm a build, to "MAKE" something, to grab something from a trunk- , progres stalls while I read man pages.

For instance, which man page would I read to confirm this requirement for installing plr:

Joe Conway says:

- R must have been built with the --enable-R-shlib option when it was configured, in order for the libR shared object library to be available.



I suspect if I learn this, then it will apply to other applications/installs etc.


many thanks,

Katie Urey
Portland, Oregon

OS- ubuntu 11.*, postgresql 9.1

This may help.

http://www.bostongis.com/PrinterFrie...esql_plr_tut01



For the most part, any time you install software outside of the package management system you would run a risk of many issues. Distro's are popular because they usually provide a way for users to install software. When you go out on your own you need to really know what is going on. Consider single use systems instead for this until you get good at it. A single virtual machine instance would be a great choice to install your study apps.

Hi Jeffro,

Thank you for the reply. The BostonGIS and the Joe Conway sites are useful. Boston seems to have a Windows Bias. Joe Conway thinks his reader knows more than I know (yet).

I did find some hints with a linux bias here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...lr/+bug/130059

My system is my test-environment and when things break, I am the only one who cares. So, it is relatively stress free to learn by experimenting, though I avoid simple rm * type mistakes.