Linux actually ran through a whole configure script without missing a SINGLE dependency. This is amazing. Compiling is usually:
A: cannot make makefile! you need B!
B: cannot make makefile! you need C!
C: cannot make makefile! your D is outdated
D: cannot make makefile! try downloading E
E: cannot make makefile! have you tried F yet?

Sorry for posting this crap, I'm just estatic.

sorry if im not amazed...but gentoo has never had a problem for me...go ahead, try it, you know you want to, no more dependancy hell, none, never HAHAHA...or maybe try some distro with apt-get...but I suggest gentoo

That would be.... no dependancy problems.... That would be.... Holy CRAP! that'd kick ass, how does that system work?

also, doesn't debian have that too?

It works by having a really big database filled with a list of files, programs, and their dependencies. When you tell it to install something, it checks the program's depency list against what you already have installed, and if you're missing something, it fills in the gaps for you.

Gentoo's system is called portage and downloads and compiles source. It works great with a high success rate(you'll probably get a failed compile every now and then, but not often). Understandably, it takes a while to install some programs.

Debian's system is apt-get. It basically does the same thing, but with binaries. I've used both and tend to prefer apt, just on basis of speed and reliability. Compiling from source has advantages, but sometimes you may end up having to wait several hours(to even a day or more) to install something that you may want to use immediately.

They're both really good systems though. APT has been adapted to a few different distros like Redhat and Slackware, and it's already in anything that's Debian based, like Knoppix.

Ummm.. I just tend to read the docs, README and INSTALL files before compiling and usually never run into any dependency problems when compiling...

I'm with tricky on this...

I can't remember the last compile that failed on slack without me slapping my forehead *doh* for not reading ./README or ./INSTALL

--Shade

Can't go wrong with a full Slackware install.

Yeah i'm also with trickykid. I'm running linux from scratch. Didn't have much dependency problems. Just do your homework before installing something.

As does just about every major, modern distro out there...

Same here

yea I'm with trickykid as well, i compiled everything on my laptop and almost never run into dependency issues (the ones i do run into are either cause 1) i prefer to use untested beta code sometimes or 2) developers 4got to mentions a few dependencies it requires

the only hell you'll find with source are : sometimes its hard to get source codes to gpl programs, you type in the program in google and it gives you a list of .rpm files !

I hate that.

Don't remind me. I HATE RPMS, every single link is from rpmfind.net. Google doesn't do good on that.

That's one reason I will try to find the actual official type page of the program in question, then from there on their own site they will usually have RPM's, source and whatever else they compiled their program as, etc.