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How To Compile and Install from Source on Ubuntu


Ubuntu and other Linux distributions have extensive package repositories to save you the trouble of compiling anything yourself. Still, sometimes you’ll find an obscure application or a new version of a program that you’ll have to compile from source.
You don’t have to be a programmer to build a program from source and install it on your system; you only have to know the basics. With just a few commands, you can build from source like a pro.
Installing the Required Software
Installing the build-essential package in Ubuntu’s package repositories automatically installs the basic software you’ll need to compile from source, like the GCC compiler and other utilities. Install it by running the following command in a terminal:
    $sudo apt-get install build-essential
Getting a Source Package
Now you’ll need your desired application’s source code. These packages are usually in compressed files with the .tar.gz or .tar.bz2 file extensions.
As an example, let’s try compiling gawk from source. Locate the program’s .tar.gz or .tar.bz2 file and save it to your computer.( You can also use wget utility to download)
$ wget http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gawk/gawk-4.1.1.tar.xz
A .tar.gz or .tar.bz2 is like a .zip file. To use it, we’ll have to extract its contents.
Use this command to extract a .tar.gz file:
tar -xzvf file.tar.gz
Or use this command to extract a .tar.bz2 file:
tar -xjvf file.tar.bz2
eg: $ tar xvf gawk-4.1.1.tar.xz
Resolving Dependencies
Once you’re in the extracted directory, run the following command:
./configure
Once ./configure completes successfully, you’re ready to compile and install the package.
Compiling and Installing
Use the following command to compile the program:
$ make
After this command finishes, the program is successfully compiled — but it’s not installed. Use the following command to install it to your system:
$ sudo make install
That is it! You have successfully compiled and installed AWK. Verify it by executing the awk command as follows −
$ which awk




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