[OT] Re: Why compiling.
On Tue, 10 Jul 2012 17:03:12 +0500, Muhammad Yousuf Khan wrote:
> This is a very basic question but confusing me for very long. so i need
> your help.
>
> why people do compiling.
For many reasons but mainly because there are no binaries available for
your system and you have to get the sources and build a package.
> i have heard many time that people are compiling kernel on debian.
That's a good example.
> what is the reason for this? i am using debian for almost 1.5 year and
> have been using it on different platform in CLI mode. but no need of
> compiling in this time window.
I don't like compiling so much within my main systems, it requires many
libraries and packages to be installed in the system and I prefer to keep
packaging at the bare minimum... so then, why I compile a kernel? Mainly
for debugging purposes.
For instance, I have many problems with my wireless card that uses
several kernel modules (brcmsmac, cordic, crdca, brcmutils, mac80211...)
and I need to try either a) patches that solve my reconnect problems or
b) updated versions of these modules, thus I need compiling a new kernel.
People also compile kernels because that's the only way to get the latest
upstream kernel and latest kernels usually provide support for new
devices or have nice functionalities not present in older reelases.
> secondly i have read that people are compiling Squid SAMBA and all the
> other packages but why. i am using KVM, squid samba etc for almost more
> then 1 year and all the servers are providing me what ever i asled all
> the services are very comprehensive and could be fit in any environment
> then why compiling?
When all works fine there's usually no need to compile things.
People compile becasue they want to add a new feature not present in the
current binary (for example, they want samba with a determined flag or
parameter "on/off"), to solve a problem/bug or to apply a patch, etc...
Greetings,
--
Camaleón
Reply to: