difference between ./configure and ./filename
 

What is the difference between installing using ./configure and ./filename?

I have downloaded checkinstall-1.5.3-tar.gz

After unzipping, I tried to install saying ./configure and make etc.

But it said no duch file

But when I used ./checkinstall it installed without any probs.

What is the difference between these two installations methods.

I would like to use checkinstall for all my installation so that I can install via rpm, which make uninstalling easier in future.

But when untarred mozilla, the ,./configure file is not there and I am forced to say ./mozilla-installer
thus I am unable to install using checkinstall

Or is there something wrong in the way I am trying to use checkinstall

./configure just runs the program with the filename of "configure" in your current working directory. It just happens to come with most programs' source because it's a relatively standard way of configuring software before compilation takes place (with the 'make' command usually).

mozilla-installer is a program that installs the binary package of mozilla (binary meaning in this case that mozilla has already been compiled for you).

I'm not familiar with checkinstall.

checkinstall uses ./checkinstall script to configure itself for compilation if I remember correctly. The only difference I expect is the developer decided on the different name.

Hi geniarse & miknight

How to use checkinstall to install files that have already been compiled?

Since one I install using tarballs, I will not be able to uninstall a software unless I have the uninstall script with the installation folder, I would like to use "checkinstall" a program that has been recommended in this forum.

The procedure for using checkinstall is as follows:

tar -xzvf filename-x.y.tar.gz
cd filename-x.y
./configure
make
su:pwd
checkinstall

This is assuming that checkinstall has already been installed. Checkinstalll has been installed as I have described previously. But now when I say checkinstall or man checkinstall, it says not found. But when I try to install using the checkinstall.rpm, it says, already installed.

Would like to install mozilla-1.6 and a number of other s/w. Hope someone can let me know where I am going wrong.

what distro are you using??? I know SuSE 8.2 comes with checkinstall (I use it myself, well used to. it reduses to work under mandrake 10) have u tried searching for the script/executable (I think it is a scrip) I'd guess it would be installed /usr/local. Then create a symbolic link to the file in /usr/bin using

ln -s /path/to/checkinstall /usr/bin/checkinstall

hope I helped, either dat or patronised you