Tips about installing new software, help!
 

Well, I finally installed Slackware (after some trouble in the installaion) and, since there is no file explorer/manager/browser, I thought "lets install it!".

Since I couldn't find any on slackpkg or SlackBuilds (I didn't search much in the builds), installing from source would be my second choice, so I cloned Nautilus's git (yep, the gnome file manager).

It took like hours (really) to install it. Not only because the number of dependencies, but because there were many things breaking in the middle; libs not been recognized/linked correctly, "make install" getting segmentation fault (wtf?), AX_* macros not installed (took some time to know they were macros from autoconf-archive), wrong versions been installed that I had to "manually" change so it could be recognized, etc.

There were like 4 times I said: "I guess i'm too newbie to try this distro, bye!" cause it was too frustrating to not been able to solve these problems on my own, and the time it did required to learn/solve it.

Of course, I'm grateful right now to be able to overcome them all, mostly correctly. I've learned alot, but... still...

The questions I'm asking here are:

• Is it that hassle to install new software on Slackware?
• Am I doing something wrong for installing everything from the source (compiling)?
• Are Slackbuilds that much easier? (I didn't use it)

Also, sometimes I installed some converted rpm files from rpmfind dot com. Is that correct? And, if so, how can I look for builds that would be the most correct to be installed on the arch I use?

How hard did you actually look for an installed file manager? Did you do a full installation of Slackware? What desktop environment are you using?
Both XFCE and KDE have their own file managers. Both are part of a full Slackware installation.

You get bonus points for persevering and not easily giving up, though. Good.

Are you kidding? Next time, type and you will see that Thunar and konqueror are there, and mc on the command line

A1: No. Just visit SlackDocs and read.
A2: Yes. Slackware is not Debian but what is said here is also mostly true for Slackware.
A3: Read this.

PS This shouldn't discourage you. I am sure you well be soon acquainted to Slackware, and don't hesitate to request help.

Welcome to Slackware - kind of!

There are several file browsers included with a full Slackware installation, and several others available from Slackbuilds.org. What desktop are you using?

The main source of your installation hassle is that Slackware does not natively support Gnome! So I can imagine that installing Nautilus would require a substantial list of non-native dependencies!

If you got it running at all, I suppose that deserves some applause!

If you need to run Gnome applications on Slackware, Dropline Gnome would be a good place to start. There are others here who run Gnome/Gnome applications on Slackware (I do not) who can offer other comments.

In order:

1. No, installing applications on Slackware is not a hassle, if done the Slackware way.
2. No and yes. You really, really need to learn about Slackbuild scripts and Slackbuilds.org!
3. See #2

To elaborate on #2 - there is nothing wrong with installing something from source. However, making use of the native package management tools and the native concept of Slackbuild scripts will have already solved most of the problems associated with that! Do not reinvent the wheel!

Welcome aboard, and good luck!

I didn't install XFCE or KDE cause I was sure that I wasn't going to use them. I only installed fluxbox cause it didn't gave me a choice to not install any WM! Normally I would manually install xorg, the video drivers and then procced to choose a WM.

Thanks Alien :)

Thunar isn't installed, i tried to install it through slackpkg and searching on slackbuilds. Only thunar-volman would show up as i recall.

Mc is installed but what I meant by file manager would be something more... graphical :^). Sorry to not be specific.

Also, I've read SlackDocs's article about installing software... 3 ways of installing: pre built package, source and slackbuilds as i remember. I just didn't slackbuilds cause i knew how to compile everything and solve (or i thought so lol).

Thanks again Didier ;)

Didn't know slackbuilds were SO IMPORTANT perhaps I should really take a look at it. Also, didn't know about that gnome compatibility with slackware, thanks astro :D! I got it running too!

One more question: What happens if I don't find a slackbuild for a desired package? like nautilus and thunar (i just searched slackbuilds and couldn't find a build script for thunar).

That's because Thunar is PART OF CORE SLACKWARE and that's where you would get it from if you hadn't been so goddamn sure you didn't need it.

Nautilus is Gnome, and Gnome isn't Slackware.

If you don't start with a full install, you are going to be high maintenance, and we won't enjoy that ...

So, you are telling me I need to install XFCE to get Thunar? (I don't know if thunar is there tho, just a guess/example)

@edit

Nevermind. I remember that there are more than one way to install those series, so I should be able to install only thunar if choosing package per package. But are there no more ways?

You can install individual packages, but there's no guarantee that all the dependencies will be installed if you don't do a full install. At least, if you want to install something from the Xfce group, you should install the entire Xfce group. Similarly with KDE. As someone else said, Slackware is not Debian (or Arch or something else with auto-dependency annoyances).

Yes, slackbuild scripts are the method Pat Volkerding uses to build and maintain the distribution packages - they are a central concept of Slackware.

As noted by others, Thunar is a core Slackware package, so you should have it with a full** install. You may find the Slackbuild script used to produce it in the distribution source tree, here for example.

Other than the most obscure packages, when you do not find something that is otherwise common on Slackbuilds.org, it is like a clue telling you to check the distribution packages as it is probably already there.

In those cases where there is not yet a Slackbuild available - make one! There are guides for doing that on the Slackbuilds site too. A Slackbuild is really just a wrapper for the build which can provide a base configuration and result in a Slackware package. The importance of the package is of course, you then manage it with the package tools.

For me one of the best advantages of Slackbuild scripts is that when some piece of software releases a new version I am not at the mercy of some other packager to update it for me! I simply modify the version info and make any tweaks if necessary in the script, rebuild and then...

All done!

It will take a little time to learn how Slackware is different (dare I say, better) than other distros, but as others have said, just ask here and you will find helpful guidance from friendly Slackers!

**With Slackware it is always important to do a full install! Slackbuilds.org scripts are built on the assumption that you have a full install.

Agreed. A full install of Slackware takes less than 10 GB of hard drive space and you get a system that works out of the box with all dependencies met. I'm running Fluxbox and I can use the applications I want (Google Chrome, Pulse Audio Controller, etc.). You may need to edit your Fluxbox menu, but, that isn't difficult.

I'm not sure if you know how to find out exactly which applications are included with Slackware, but there's a file called PACKAGES.TXT that you can use to check. Here's the one that's probably relevant to you:

http://ftp.oregonstate.edu/pub/slack...2/PACKAGES.TXT

I just don't like the idea of installing stuff that I won't use like XFCE :( thanks!

I understand now how important slackbuilds are and how I should have installed everything, thanks alot :) !! Slackware really is different and i hope to learn alot from it!

The more I run Slackware, the more I admire its simplicity, elegance, and robustness. I think you will grow to like Slackware. Welcome to the official Slackware forum. :)

This is understandable and many people don't install everything. However, Slackware doesn't have any native dependency resolution. If you wanted to install thunar from the installation media, there is nothing on there that will tell you of any dependencies that application may have. With some fancy work and some searching, you can usually find it out, but it's a lot of work, and most users find it just isn't worth the time.

Because of this lack of native dependency resolution, it is recommended (especially for newer users) to do a full install of Slackware, because then all dependencies are met. As 55020 hitest stated, a full install is less than 10GB. That's it. Slackware is a different beast than most other distros because it doesn't have any additional official software to install other than what's on installation media.

Then, when you move onto SlackBuilds (at least on SlackBuilds.org, commonly called SBo), they have the expectation you're running a full install. They will not list any software dependencies that are included with the full install (but they are required to list all 3rd-party dependencies and they must be available on SBo if they're required for the program). All SlackBuilds are tested to ensure they compile properly on a bare full Slackware install. If you don't have a full install, sometimes the software won't compile and then you have to try and figure out why.

One common reason people choose to not do a full install is because of resources. Well, if you have KDE installed but don't start it, it doesn't use anything more than less than a GB of harddrive space. No additional CPU power and no additional RAM.

Don't get me wrong. This is your machine and you're certainly entitled to install what you want, but these are a few of the reasons why many suggest using a full install.

SlackBuilds themselves aren't hugely important, but it's more of the service they provide. The biggest being a consistent way to build software and to package that software in a way to allow Slackware's package manager to track it, providing easy removal. All SlackBuilds do is automate the ./configure, make, make install process, but instead of just doing make install, it does make install DESTDIR=$tmp/$location. What this does is install everything for that package into a temporary directory. Then there's a little bit of cleanup, like copying documentation, ensuring man pages are compressed, checking file permissions, etc, and finally, the makepkg command is called, which will take all those files and combine them into a Slackware package.

For years, I didn't use Slackware packages. I used ./configure, make, and make install. It worked, but it's messy. It makes it hard to know what programs you have installed, which makes it hard to know what versions they are and whether you should be upgrading them. If you want to uninstall a package, you better hope you kept the source directory so you could run a make uninstall. I remember trying to compile mplayer and the difficulty in figuring out my ./configure line, then tracking down all the dependencies. Using SBo, someone else has already done that work for me.

If I happen to come across a program that isn't on SBo that I feel should be (doesn't happen often), I will create a SlackBuild script for it and submit it myself. They are relatively simple bash scripts (usually, but they can be extremely complex if desired like Alien Bob's vlc.SlackBuild).

You seem to have a pretty solid Linux foundation if you were able to pull of compiling nautilus from source, so I have no doubt you will make a fine Slacker. Hopefully you can get through the early bits without shooting yourself in your foot like I did (several times in both feet). Let us know if you have any further questions. We try to be a helpful community :)

Sorry for the novel ;)

I must confess I really didn't expect that much help haha! thanks again you all! :D
@edit
I guess I only continued building nautilus too see if I could at the end, but now I'll try to stick with the build scripts ;)