48
Need explanations about compiling
(lemmy.ml)
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 17 Apr 2024
48 points (87.5% liked)
Linux
48376 readers
717 users here now
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
Rules
- Posts must be relevant to operating systems running the Linux kernel. GNU/Linux or otherwise.
- No misinformation
- No NSFW content
- No hate speech, bigotry, etc
Related Communities
Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
Some software is brand new and not yet packaged as software packages. And for already existing software Linux distributions will have to make choices as not everything can be included and maintained. Now if a developer creates new software, and things are not packaged yet (With Debian for Debian stable this can take a really long time) it can be comfortable for the developer to provide just instructions about how to compile the software so users can run the software, while the maintainer does not have to bother about packaging.
So it's a bit like taking all the useful packages and mix it up in a clean package? And are .deb .rpm... packages made like that?
Yes, indeed. If you would want to you can re-compile Debian deb packages from Debian sources. To give you an idea : https://wiki.debian.org/apt-src There's also Gentoo Linux which has a history of compiling software. Years ago that was interesting because of flags for compiling, make the resulting software optimized for certain CPU models.
That's still true, dozens of us still use it!
I see. What are you optimizing for ? A smaller and faster kernel, or optimizing for certain CPU or certain other hardware parts ?
I don't use it for the optimisations, I just prefer its package manager and ecosystem.