[olug] Installing software under /usr/local

[Mike Hostetler]

On Wed, Feb 26, 2003 at 01:54:26PM -0600, Dave Burchell wrote:
> 
> Let's say I have a fine Linux box and most of my software has come
> to me as RPMs or .deb files.  But, I need to pick up the sources
> for a more recent version of some software, and I want to install it
> under "/usr/local".  Let's say I want the latest version of The GIMP.
> Should I install it under a directory I create called "/usr/local/gimp"
> or should I put The Gimp's libs under "/usr/local/lib", the executable
> under "/usr/local/bin", and so on?

I would do (using your GIMP example):
   ./configure --prefix=/usr/local/gimp

Then make uninstall would work,saves you copying all the files, setting
permissions, etc. 
 
> I've always leaned towards putting all the files under
> their own directory, then adding those that I want to my path
> (PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/gimp/bin).  That way I can keep the software
> versions straight, but it can be inconvenient when adding new users to the
> system and lead to a long path.
> 
> Comments?  Opinions?

I think easier method, then making a system path 20K long, would be to write a
shell script (or Perl or Python) that would search out the new "bin" and "lib"
directories under your /usr/local/newapp subdir and make soft links in
/usr/local/bin and /usr/local/lib.  Probably would be easier on a multi-user
machine.

-- mikeh