Hi all.
Please can someone help me. What does the following mean:

./configure
make
make install

how does it work and what does it mean.




When i install from a TAR what steps do i need to take to install?


Thanks for your help.

./configure runs the configuration process and it checks to see if everything needed to compile the program exists on your system and most times you have the option of passing --with=/???/???/??? switches to tell it where you either want the program to install or where to find parts of the libraries it its looking for, using --help will give you a list of options you can use during the ./configure. Make does the actual compiling using the instructions in the Makefile the first two steps can be done as normal user. The make install again uses the instructions in the Makefile for the install procedure and usually needs to be run as root or you can use su -c 'make install' as normal user to run a one time command as root using the su program you would only need to type in the root password when asked and the make install command will then be run as root and when done you will be back to normal user on the command line. It is always best to compile with these steps as normal user you should never be compiling as root. Most times reading the README file that is usually included in the tarball tells whether you need to use all three steps and gives you additional information on build instructions for different distros.

./configure is a script that checks your system setup for compatibility and prepares the source code to compile on your system.

make compiles the software

make install installs the software into the appropriate places on your system