* Bill Moseley <moseley@hank.org>:
My preference is to almost always build from source with the .gz package. I feel (somewhat) like I have a better understanding what's going on. For example, a common source of problems with using mod_perl (on RedHat) is building mod_perl from source while using the Perl from RPM. The solution is to build all from source.
Does anyone have any rules when to use the RPM instead of building from source? How does installing from RPM differ from building from source?
What I do is install all programs that I compiled in the /usr/local/ hierarchy, so that I know which ones are not rpm-based, and I know what to delete if I grow to despise the program. When you build a program, you can also do compile-time configuration which gives you a) precisely what you want and nothing more b) a smaller executable if you don't want a lot of features that don't appeal to you. (This is true for many programs like mutt, jed, slrn, etc.) When installing important software like the C library and GTK, you probably want to stick with RPM though. That way upgrading and dependencies are better achieved. "David" -- To unsubscribe send e-mail to suse-linux-e-unsubscribe@suse.com For additional commands send e-mail to suse-linux-e-help@suse.com Also check the FAQ at http://www.suse.com/Support/Doku/FAQ/