HOWTO: Compile source code

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Howto Compile Source Code on Ubuntu

One thing that I have noticed is a lot of new users to Ubuntu have trouble when it comes to compilling source code. Hopefully, after this guide you will see it as the rather simple task that it really is. First thing, make sure that you have the basic compillers, otherwise you won't be able to compile anything. Open up the terminal and type in

sudo aptitude install build-essential

A few other tools that can come in usefull are automake1.9, libtoolize, subversion, cvs and checkinstall.

Now we are on to the fun stuff I'll use an example of compilling mplayer (gui) with x264, xvid and ffmpeg support. There are a few ways to download the source and compile it so I will show multiple ways to do each section.

Part 1 – Compilling XviD
Firstly, download the source code. There are a few ways to do this.

1) Using apt

apt-get source xvid

2)Browsing the website and extracting it

wget http://downloads.xvid.org/downloads/xvidcore-1.1.2.tar.bz2
tar jxvf xvidcore-1.1.2.tar.bz2

(note: for a tar.gz archive use tar zxvf <archive>)

3) Using developer cvs/svn repositories

cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.xvid.org:/xvid login    #(just type enter)
 cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.xvid.org:/xvid co xvidcore

Now make sure that you have all the dependencies needed to compile the code.

sudo apt-get build-dep xvid

will download everything you need (Make sure that you have the deb-src repo enabled). If you get errors while configureing about a missing library or package, install that package

Secondly, configure the source code. For cvs it is slightly different (for xvid anyway, normally the readme will give clues). For cvs only run

./bootstrap.sh

before ./configure. Now change the directory to where you have extracted the source code to

cd ${xvidcore}/build/generic

Now the hard part. Picking what options you want to compile the source code with. My recommened way is

./configure CFLAGS="-march=athlon64 -O2 -pipe -mtune=athlon64” CHOST="x86_64-pc-linux-gnu"  MAKEOPTS="-j2" –prefix=/usr

This ./configure command will result in optimised code, which should be faster but may make debugging almost impossible. Don't open a new bug report unless if you compile it generically (ie ./configure –prefix=/usr). Here's a list of CFLAGS recommened for different processors. http://gentoo-wiki.com/Safe_Cflags
For more information on CFLAGS look here http://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gcc-3....e-Options.html

Now Compile the source with make

make

Once that finishes without any errors you will have the program compilled in that directory. You can use it to make sure that it works as expected before installing it. There are a few ways to intall the software. A simple

sudo make install

will install it as is. Using checkinstall you can make a debian file with

sudo checkinstall -D make install
sudo dpkg -i <package>.deb

Also you can make a more generic debian file with

sudo dpkg-buildpackage

However, it will just compile a generic package without optimisations. Also

sudo apt-get –build source

will make a generic debian package of the source code. Hopefully there is someone that has found this information useful. Recommendations and constructive cristisms are encouraged.

TO BE CONTINUED with x264, ffmpeg with enabling features (xvid and x264 support) and mplayer with a gui and codec support.

[Kossilar]

Well I hate to be the one to say this, and I feel like a total jackass, but this isn't helpful at all. Its much too specific.

It seems like each individual piece of software needs its own configurations at build time. Frankly I need a manual, or a separate piece of software if I'm ever going to figure out how to do this. It would be nice if Linux devs could come up with a standard so that we could skip this compiling crap and start using the damn software.

[pay]

Have you tried reading the README that comes with the source code?

[Ramses de Norre]

Why a howto? It's as simple as unzip and read the READ_ME and INSTALL files..., all info is in their and if not you should contact the developer.

And a standard is quite impossible because of the big differences between programs, but that's why there are instructions included in every package.

[pay]

The readmes don't have information like where to get the dependencies and they are less specific to Ubuntu. Also, some people look for help here first than elsewhere. And I realise that this is hardly a standard, but I tried to help people that have never compiled anything before to get a general idea of what it is like.

[RedSquirrel]

Howto Compile Source Code on Ubuntu

A few other tools that can come in usefull are automake1.9, libtoolize, subversion, cvs and checkinstall.

I would recommend that you mention the package is named libtool so that people can find it in the repositories.

[Endolith]

2)Browsing the website and extracting it

wget http://downloads.xvid.org/downloads/xvidcore-1.1.2.tar.bz2
tar jxvf xvidcore-1.1.2.tar.bz2

(note: for a tar.gz archive use tar zxvf <archive>)

You claim that this is "to help people that have never compiled anything before", but if so, it doesn't seem like you put a lot of thought into what those people are familiar with.

Why do people persist in using the command line for EVERYTHING? This is not helpful at all. A web browser is infinitely more intuitive and familiar than wget. File-roller is much more intuitive than tar, and handles .tar.bz2, .tar.gz, and whatever else, without requiring special command switches for each type.

Ubuntu is supposed to be a user-friendly OS. Please describe user-friendly tools that people are familiar with and do everything "the Ubuntu way" as much as possible, instead of "the old way".

I would recommend that you mention the package is named libtool so that people can find it in the repositories.

Yes. Another example. I couldn't find this in Synaptic. And you should explain what these tools actually do, instead of just saying "tools that can come in usefull". I know checkinstall creates a package in Synaptic, so that it can more easily be upgraded and uninstalled, but why would you mention subversion in a tutorial like this?

[Amazona aestiva]

I just needed this!

Thanks!

[Endolith]

Here are some documents on help.ubuntu.com:

• https://help.ubuntu.com/community/CompilingEasyHowTo
• https://help.ubuntu.com/community/CompilingSoftware

[netimen]

I have downloaded the newest version of source code and apt-get build-dep says all dependencies are OK (because it checks for the previous version). But ./configure always finds new missing packages and I have to install those packages and then run ./configure from the beginning and wait before it founds a new error. Can I know all missing packages at one time?