How to install .tar files

Forum: Other Help Topics
Topic: How to install .tar files
started by: Waterns

Posted by Waterns on April 08 2005,15:16

Ok I have downloaded the latest version of airsnort 0.27e. It has a make file and many other files and quite frankly I just want to be able to install it. Some pratical newbie help for me anyone?

BTW will the same process work for other tars?

Posted by mikshaw on April 08 2005,16:02

Last question first: yes and no. Most use the makefile system, but many use other means of compiling, so giving one answer for compiling is impossible. The most important thing is that you read the README and INSTALL files included in the archive (may be others worth reading as well).

If you just want to install an application, you may want to reconsider using a source package and think about using precompiled package instead. There are often debian packages available, which should work in DSL using dsl-dpkg.dsl.

Installing from source will require at the very least that you either modify the makefile(s) to point to tcc as the compiler to use, or install the gcc1.dsl extension. You'll probably also need gnu-utils instead of the included busybox, and i wouldn't be the least bit surprised if your build required one or more dev packages (headers).
There's really no single clear way to explain the compiling process, since theoretically every program could have unique build reqirements and methods. Reading the included docs and some trial-and-error is your best hope.