If you find an application that you want, but can’t find a binary for it… you’re probably left only with the source code as an option. I have listed and briefly described the three main commands to properly configure and compile source code.
First unpack (gunzip, bunzip2, unzip) the application file(s)
Then “cd” into the unpacked application directory.
Run the “./configure” command. This checks the configuration of the running kernel to get a list of libraries and other configuration options needed to run the application. This also creates the file “makefile” which contains the results of the “./configure” command.
Next, run the “make” command. This will read through the “makefile” file. It uses the options found within the file to correctly convert the application’s source files to binary files.
Finally, run “make install”. This process copies (installs) the previously created binary files to the correct locations (example being /usr/local/bin) and establishes the required links
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