[SOLVED] Accessing Application Source Code

dodo101 · 12-26-2012, 08:10 AM

Hi all

Being a programmer, I would like to see the code of some of the applications installed on my system. What is the best way to access that code? I'm using Linux Mint 13 “Maya”.

Thanks

kabamaru · 12-26-2012, 08:53 AM

I think on debian based systems such as Mint, the easiest way would be:

Code:

apt-get source package_name

example:

Code:

apt-get source htop

dodo101 · 12-26-2012, 12:56 PM

Thank you for the reply. I've tried your suggestion and getting the following:

Code:

magic@magic ~ $ apt-get source htop
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
E: Unable to find a source package for htop

Am I missing the correct repositories?

jkirchner · 12-26-2012, 01:26 PM

Using Google and "htop source code" leads one here: http://htop.sourceforge.net/index.php?page=downloads

I do not use Mint but you should have a software sources option in your system settings, you may have to enable a repo for source.

dodo101 · 12-26-2012, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkirchner

Using Google and "htop source code" leads one here: http://htop.sourceforge.net/index.php?page=downloads

Thank you, but I'm looking for a general way of getting source code for applications in Linux, not specifically for htop.

I checked my Repositories settings on Synaptic Package Manager and I have the Souce Code box ticked. So I'm confused as to why I can't seem to download the code

jkirchner · 12-26-2012, 01:30 PM

I think I edited as you were responding. Check your software sources, I see I have a block that can be checked for source. I am using Xubuntu though.

kabamaru · 12-26-2012, 01:32 PM

You need to enable the source repositories:

Code:

gksudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

find lines like this one:

Code:

deb http://packages.linuxmint.com/ maya main upstream import

copy-paste right below it, and add to the new line the 'src' part, so it looks like this:

Code:

deb http://packages.linuxmint.com/ maya main upstream import
deb-src http://packages.linuxmint.com/ maya main upstream import

This will enable the source repos for mint-only packages. For the ubuntu ones (basically most programs) do the same thing to lines containing the word ubuntu.

then:

Code:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install build-essential
apt-get source htop

dodo101 · 12-26-2012, 01:48 PM

Thanks kabamaru, this was very helpfull.

I had to use pluma rather than gedit (I think pluma is the default text editor in this version of Mint), so I typed:

Code:

gksudo pluma /etc/apt/sources.list

I then changed the sources.list file as you suggested, and success followed:

Code:

magic@magic ~ $ sudo apt-get source htop
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
Need to get 395 kB of source archives.
Get:1 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise/universe htop 1.0.1-1 (dsc) [1,112 B]
Get:2 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise/universe htop 1.0.1-1 (tar) [385 kB]
Get:3 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise/universe htop 1.0.1-1 (diff) [9,113 B]
Fetched 395 kB in 0s (1,221 kB/s)
gpgv: Signature made Sun 19 Feb 2012 08:29:27 GMT using DSA key ID C154998C
gpgv: Can't check signature: public key not found
dpkg-source: warning: failed to verify signature on ./htop_1.0.1-1.dsc
dpkg-source: info: extracting htop in htop-1.0.1
dpkg-source: info: unpacking htop_1.0.1.orig.tar.gz
dpkg-source: info: applying htop_1.0.1-1.diff.gz

My question now is: Where do I find the source code that I've just downloaded?

kabamaru · 12-26-2012, 02:00 PM

They'll be in the same directory where you entered apt-get source package. Just type pwd (print working directory). If you just opened a terminal and entered the command, they'll probably be in your home directory. They are already unpacked, so look for a directory named appname-version, e.g. htop-1.0.

dodo101 · 12-26-2012, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kabamaru

They'll be in the same directory where you entered apt-get source package. Just type pwd (print working directory). If you just opened a terminal and entered the command, they'll probably be in your home directory. They are already unpacked, so look for a directory named appname-version, e.g. htop-1.0.

You are right, I found them in my home directory. Thank you very much for all your support. My issue is now solved and a lot quicker than I expected! Thanks again for everyone who replied.