LinuxQuestions.org - general installation question

Every configuration script should allow you to set these things up. Typing ./configure --help should put out a list something like this:

Code:

By default, `make install' will install all the files in

`/usr/kde/3.2/bin', `/usr/kde/3.2/lib' etc.  You can specify

an installation prefix other than `/usr/kde/3.2' using `--prefix',

for instance `--prefix=$HOME'.



For better control, use the options below.



Fine tuning of the installation directories:

  --bindir=DIR          user executables [EPREFIX/bin]

  --sbindir=DIR          system admin executables [EPREFIX/sbin]

  --libexecdir=DIR      program executables [EPREFIX/libexec]

  --datadir=DIR          read-only architecture-independent data [PREFIX/share]

  --sysconfdir=DIR      read-only single-machine data [PREFIX/etc]

  --sharedstatedir=DIR  modifiable architecture-independent data [PREFIX/com]

  --localstatedir=DIR    modifiable single-machine data [PREFIX/var]

  --libdir=DIR          object code libraries [EPREFIX/lib]

  --includedir=DIR      C header files [PREFIX/include]

  --oldincludedir=DIR    C header files for non-gcc [/usr/include]

  --infodir=DIR          info documentation [PREFIX/info]

  --mandir=DIR          man documentation [PREFIX/man]



Program names:

  --program-prefix=PREFIX            prepend PREFIX to installed program names

  --program-suffix=SUFFIX            append SUFFIX to installed program names

  --program-transform-name=PROGRAM  run sed PROGRAM on installed program names

If you change the prefix it is basically a global way to say all this stuff goes in this directory. You can also chaned each individual file types location as needed if a global prefix changed does do it for ya.

So if I were installing a library for temp purposes I would pass the --prefix=$HOME/libtmp or something like that to install it into my home directory.