https://slackbuilds.org/
Compiling from source is how you install extra packages on Slackware.

5.3 kernel for Slackware

kernel, openldap, mysql ...
and also a lot of [ubuntu] packages were rebuilt from source

Yes, I compile open source stuff all the time, I've run through LFS/BLFS, and some distros I use don't have huge repos so compiling is the easiest way to get it. It does get you to appreciate a package manager more...

Yes, everytime I update Nagios Core.
It's a pretty straightforward process.
Thank you

Willy Fontana

Yes, I think LightHTTPD and Ted text editor

Yes, but only if there was no other option. Never had a reason to if I could get it with apt-get.

This sounds familiar but I can't remember exactly why I needed cdrtools.

I've compiled drivers (ongoing, for a Ubuntu 16.04 box for a random USB wnic), random small programs (./configure && make && sudo make install), and tons of building rpms and dpkgs. Google my name and you'll find my work. Some of the biggest ones include palemoon and Waterfox. Mozilla codebases are beasts! But I absolutely refuse to try gtk or anything like that.

I have recompiled rpms to modify a flag or two, and rolled them entirely from my own efforts and the source tarball. I've forked others' rpm specs or debian/ directories.

I have compiled some packages not included in Slackware:
dos2unix, unrar, pstotext. jpeg2ps

yep, all the time. Doing 'apt-get build-dep <package>' can make things a lot easier. Also, I have a lot of Solaris at work so it's the only way to get any decent software for it.

I have compiled several versions of wxmaxima on different systems. The cmake3-gui is very helpful with this.

I'll bet 90% of all linux users, like I, have tried it and failed every time. I'd have to get someone to sit next to me and show me slowly. Those step by step articles always have issues and I get stuck mid way, always! So I give up. Thats why open source is really not as open as it says it it, as its complicated! My 2 cents, anyway..

2 members found this post helpful.

Yes, I have compiled the Kernel few times, recently i compiled Emscripten and em-dosbox. Also tivaware rools. And if count, a lot of slackbuild packages :-)

Yes back in the day when everything was a bit whacky and drivers etc. were often missing but not so much lately.

In fact the last one I remember doing other than stuff I have written myself was NMap and even that was just minor tweaks for internal use only.

As most of my work is production I have long since left the "bleeding edge".

Back in the day, there were a number of applications that weren't available except as source code. It was always an adventure, downloading the code, checking the compilation instructions to see what the dependencies were, searching for, downloading the source for any I didn't already have, checking the dependencies for them, etc until all the dependencies had been compiled and installed, then going back to the original application that started all of that, and starting the compilation and hoping it would complete without error. When there were errors, even more fun ensued.

Repositories are the single best thing that ever happened to Linux distros!!