tmalloy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
t> 1. Is is normally best to try something out in my home directory before
t> installing it as root? Will this always be possible?
It's often a good idea, though in the past I haven't necessarily. :-)
If you install things in /usr/local so that they don't overwrite
Debian's files, you'll probably be able to avoid problems.
t> 2. Should source file normally be (tar -zxvf *.tar.gz) in /, or /usr, or
t> /usr/local, or somewhere else?
Probably not, possibly, likely, and likely. :-) I usually unpack
sources in /usr/local/src or under my home directory. I'd recommend
avoiding unpacking sources in /usr/src since that is technically
Debian's space and not the local administrator's.
t> Do most programmers expect that you are installing from a
t> particular directory?
No. Well-written programs should make no assumptions about the
directory you are installing _to_, either.
t> 3. What fundamental differences are there in the file system structure of
t> debian as compared to say other Linux distributions, or other Unix's
t> (sun-OS, hpux, aix), that are relevant to compilation and installation
t> issues. That is what kinds of changes commonly need to be
t> made to make files and install scripts.
Usually, very few. Most modern Un*ces have a /var filesystem, and I
believe the majority of source packages out there use it properly.
Similarly, I believe the majority of systems have /sbin and /usr/sbin
directories; system executables (i.e. init) no longer go in /etc.
--
_
/ \ "The cat's been in the box for over
| David Maze | 20 years. Nobody's feeding it. The
| [EMAIL PROTECTED] |cat is dead."
| http://donut.mit.edu/dmaze/ | -- Grant, on Schroedinger's Cat
\_/
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