On 9/17/2010 2:15 PM, m.roth at 5-cent.us wrote: > >>> How to download, md5sum check, unpack, configure and >>> compile a GPL *.tar.gz package. >>> >>> As SysAdmin that's something they will need to do sooner or >>> later :) >> >> But it's much more important to know all the reasons *not* to do that >> except as a last resort. Reasons that someone who has had to maintain >> and update such things for decades will know that won't occur to an >> inexperienced beginner. You can summarize by saying "yum update is a >> lot easier". > > Excerpt when a user comes to you and asks you to install a package for > which there isn't any rpm... or, for that matter, when you're force to use > CPAN to install a module for which there's no .rpm, and then the build > fails, but works if you cd into /root/.cpan/BUILD/<pgmsource> and make.... Agreed that it's good to know how - but 'there isn't any rpm' should really mean there isn't any rpm at any well-maintained location, not just in the base system or that you didn't bother to look. Every time you build something yourself you are taking on the job of maintaining it forever and probably leaving people in a lurch when you leave and someone else has to figure out what non-standard things you did. -- Les Mikesell lesmikesell at gmail.com