>>>>> Writing an ebuild is best, but sometimes you just want to give a >>>>> program a try without writing an ebuild (like everyone else running >>>>> Linux does) and a scruft script enables you to do that without making >>>>> a mess of your system. >>>> >>>> Not to be picky, it's just an idea but in that case, isn't it way >>>> easier to >>>> just ./configure --prefix=/some/dir/inside/yourhome or edit a makefile? >>> >>> I have to say I know nothing about compiling or installing outside of >>> portage. Does specifying a prefix like that work? You get a fully >>> functional program with nothing installed outside of some/dir? >> >> Yes, it's the "normal way" for people that don't use package managers. >> I almost always install into my home directory for programs that >> aren't in portage (or make my own ebuild if it is a simple one). Or >> depending on what program it is, create a user for it and run it under >> that user account so it can't touch anything else. > > Yes. It's mostly that simple. Though sometimes in more complex programs > you might need some extra setup (i.e. configure some variable so the program > can find its path to the required libs or so). It really depends on the > program,
So for example, miro needs xine to play videos. If I ./configure miro with --prefix=/usr/local, it will install to /usr/local/miro or similar? Then I would need to point it to xine and possibly others since it wasn't configured like --prefix=/ ? Is all this done as root? > however if you open the readme or install file and take a look 99% of the > times the procedure should be described there. Not all programs use the > tipical make system, so you should always check the docs, and in any case > save the source tree for further refference, or just to be able to make > uninstall. Couldn't I just uninstall with 'rm -rf /usr/local/miro' ? - Grant > Note that this is the cleanest method, and in some cases it's the only option > (i.e. you don't have root access to the machine, so you have to build in your > home dir). > >> >> Also, a lot of more simple programs don't even need to be installed. >> Just untar it, configure it, make it and run it from the directory in >> which the source resides. > > This work for smaller programs very well. Just make and launch it.
