gcc problems in Ubuntu

I installed Ubuntu. The problem is everytime i type ./configure, it says problems with gtk GUI. Can you please tell me what are the other packages I need to install to eliminate difficulty in configuring applications? It seems gcc is not by default installed in ubuntu. I have to install it for it to work. I am wondering why I am having such problems in Ubuntu when its working in Red Hat

sudo apt-get install build-essential

Originally Posted by pljvaldez sudo apt-get install build-essential

And apt-file then as root apt-file update then as normal user apt-file search file/missing that is complained about to see which package contains it so you can install it rinse, lather, repeat for the next error/complaint if any.

Edit for typo.