would i simply recompile the source code on the distro that I want that app for? say the app was a kde app and I wanted to run it in gnome, is it as easy as getting the source and compiling it? or is it some other messed up stuff I gotta do ?

It depends on a package. Packages have a varying number of dependencies. A KDE application will most likely have a lot of KDE/QT dependencies so if KDE is not installed, it will fail. There are however other packages that have very few or no dependencies so you could take the source and compile them on most distros.

HTH

Hi,

you seem to be getting distros and desktop environments confused. Simply use your package manager to install what ever programs you want. If this doesn't make sense please tell us exactly what you want to install on what system.

Evo2.

If the OP means DEs, obviously my post makes little sense in this context. The more I read the original post, the more I'm inclined to think that a DE is meant there.

Chances are QT libraries and GTK libraries already co exist in a Linux distro installation. I know for sure in OpenSuse Gnome edition includes KDE applications anyway.

It's best to get software from your distribution's repository. If you asked from a typical KDE thing, like Dragon player, on a Gnome system, there might be a lot of dependencies to download that a KDE user would already have, but the installer will take care of that.

What if your distro doesn't have it? You can download a package from somewhere else and try installing it. For example, the program's developers may offer a deb package. If you have a Debian based system, like Mint or Mepis, you could try installing it with dpkg. If it doesn't work, it's no distaster. It usually does, because all the deb using distros are ultimately based in Debian, so they tend to use similar names for libraries. The rpm packages are a different matter, because that format is used by unrelated distros. A package made on Mageia may refuse to install on Fedora, not because it wouldn't work, but because it says it needs library wigitlib and Fedora has called it libwigit.

Compiling the source code yourself means you have to read the instructions carefully and make sure you have all the dependencies installed, but it's not difficult: just slower.