simeandrews: you've *almost* got it.

"./configure" creates a "makefile" with the options appropriate for your system. In doing so, it check to see what you have installed on your system; specifically, the things the compilation is going to need.

"make" runs the compile portion of the makefile. That is, it takes the source code, and creates a functional application out of it.

"make install" runs the "install" portion of the makefile, copying and linking the appropriate parts of the application and it's libraries so that a user can run the application.

Edit: biojayc posted while I was typing. Biojayc: what is the *exact* error output by "make install"? That info is needed to help solve the problem.

info about exporting environment variables here
or another post on LQ here (might be good to follow the link in that page to the java SDK page).

set your variable by typing this at terminal window: and type the path you want it to reference to.

im posting this because you asked.. if you installed glib then it should have installed a glib_conf script file... you can use the path of that file in the export command. if you didnt install it however, then this wont help, probably.

Wow, I was just making a somewhat educated (aka looking at what happens) guess!

Just to make sure, when you are doing ./configure --prefix=/usr, are you root? Just making sure, because only root can make changes to usr.

here is the error message I got when I tried to make install glib after doing ./configure --prefix=/usr/bin


/bin/sh ../../../mkinstalldirs /usr/bin/man/man1
mkdir -p --/usr/bin/man/man1
mkdir: '/usr/bin/man' exists but is not a directory
make[5]: *** [install -man1] Error 1
make[5]: Leaving directory '/home/biojayc/Desktop/glib/glib-2.6.3/docs/reference/glib'
make[4]: *** [install-am] Error 2
make[4]: Leaving directory '/home/biojayc/Desktop/glib/glib-2.6.3/docs/reference/glib'
make[3]: *** [install-recursive] Error 1
make[3]: Leaving directory '/home/biojayc/Desktop/glib/glib-2.6.3/docs/reference'
make[2]: *** [install-recursive] Error 1
make[2]: Leaving directory '/home/biojayc/Desktop/glib/glib-2.6.3/docs'
make[1]: *** [install-recursive] Error 1
make[1]: Leaving directory '/home/biojayc/Desktop/glib/glib-2.6.3'


I checked the 'usr/bin/' directory and there is an executable called man in there, so that's why it says theres not a directory. I'm still very confused though what is going on. I don't understand linux at all. Why can't I just install glib to some location, and then set the environment variable for it so that xmms can find it? and if I can, how do I do so?

No, you are not root. Specifying the prefix configures the makefile to *install* to that location. Of course, then you need to do the "make install" as root.

Edit: biojayc: Doh! Of course. That's why the Prefix *should* be "/usr".

Now why that didn't work for you, I don't know ...

okay, I'm going to try the export thing. BTW, I was set to root. Thanx for all the speedy help, it's very nice

curious to wonder what man has anything to do with this? does it mention something about man in order for the setup?

You're welcome, biojayc. This is a big community, so replies are *usually* pretty fast.

To expand a little more on the tar.gz, and compile/make stuff, this is the common routine for using these files. (Note: for newbies, I *always* recommend using your own distro's package management system over compiling source, when possible. It's SO much easier.)

1) Download the tarball, e.g., "application1.tar.gz".
2) Open a terminal window.
3) $ cd /path/to/downloaded/tarball
4) $ tar -xvzf application1.tar.gz
(This step extracts the source code from the tarball, and typically puts it in a directory with the same name as the tarball, minus the ".tar.gz".)
5) $ cd application1
6) $ ./configure --prefix=/usr
7) $ make
8) $ su
9) <enter root password>
10) # make install
11) # exit

And check out this thread for a good discussion about tarball, and rpm files.

Edit: nadroj: apparantly the install puts some man pages out for the user to see.

hmm.. right, makes sense.. forgot about those! :P
i was just curious to the point of the 1st 3 lines of in/ouput that he posted afew posts prior..?

edit: (referring to post #19)

that was the output for the command when he did what i suggested (--prefix==/usr/bin), as he notes. oh well, my head hurts and i need sleep! heh

okay, I glib seemed to install fine with no erros, but there's no glib-config file on my computer anywhere. When I try to run ./configure on xmms, it errors as it did before and says to set GLIB_CONFIG environment variable to the glib-config script. But sense there isn't one, what do I do? The program says it needs v1.2.2 or higher, but the glib I'm trying to install is 2.6.3, so is it possible that it's such a higher version that it is implemented differently, and thus xmms just doesn't work with it anymore? This is getting pretty frustrating.


Also, I don't have an internet connection in linux, so I have to reboot into windows to post again, so that's why it may take a bit between posts. I've tried to get ndiswrapper to install but it errors during the ./configure phase. don't remember the exact errors because I have to print them out which I didn't do.

biojayc: What happens when you go to the Mandrake Control Center/Software management, and try to install xmms?

>>biojayc: What happens when you go to the Mandrake Control Center/Software management, and try to install xmms?>>

are you talking about using urpmi or whatever (I don't have internet in linux) or using rpmdrake?

RPMDrake.

(rpmdrake is just the gui front end for urpmi. )

i read somewhere that glib-conf is supplied in the glib-devel package... heres a link to the rpm glib-devel dunno if this will help.. maybe try installing this and try installign xmms again?