Re: Using sources to update packages...

[bob@proulx.com (Bob Proulx)]

ZephyrQ wrote:
> ...Will I mess up the system if I choose to 'upgrade' a package by 
> compiling from sources (in this case just a game)?

If you are talking about this sequence:

  tar xzvf program-X-Y.tar.gz
  cd program-X.Y
  ./configure
  make
  make check
  make install

Then you should be okay because that will install into /usr/local by
default.  Make sure you are in the 'staff' group so that you can
run the 'make install' as yourself and not need root.  If you are not
root at the time it is very hard to break your system.

  sudo addgroup $(whoami) staff

The log out and log back in again to have the group change take effect.

The /usr/local tree is writable by group staff.  Once you are in group
staff in addition to your normal groups then you can write to the
/usr/local tree as yourself.  This is much safer than using root for
that purpose.

Alternatively you can install into your own $HOME directory.

  ./configure --prefix=$HOME

The rest is the same.  Then of course because it is your own home
directory you don't need any additional groups.  But no one else can
access the files because they are your private copy.

> I'm on Etch, but thinking of going up to Lenny...has it stabilized a 
> bit? (Realizing that it can be a *long* time between stable upgrades...)

Etch is barely three months old!  It was released on April 8th, 2007.

But if that is not new enough then I can't recommend Testing.  Instead
I would use Sid.  By the nature of the release process Testing
sometimes has blockage issues.  But of course Sid is the bleeding edge
and you shouldn't run Sid unless you can handle the churn there.

Bob