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Need explanations about compiling
(lemmy.ml)
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this post was submitted on 17 Apr 2024
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
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Some software is brand new and not yet packaged as software packages. And for already existing software Linux distributions will have to make choices as not everything can be included and maintained. Now if a developer creates new software, and things are not packaged yet (With Debian for Debian stable this can take a really long time) it can be comfortable for the developer to provide just instructions about how to compile the software so users can run the software, while the maintainer does not have to bother about packaging.
So it's a bit like taking all the useful packages and mix it up in a clean package? And are .deb .rpm... packages made like that?
Yes, indeed. If you would want to you can re-compile Debian deb packages from Debian sources. To give you an idea : https://wiki.debian.org/apt-src There's also Gentoo Linux which has a history of compiling software. Years ago that was interesting because of flags for compiling, make the resulting software optimized for certain CPU models.
That's still true, dozens of us still use it!
I see. What are you optimizing for ? A smaller and faster kernel, or optimizing for certain CPU or certain other hardware parts ?
I don't use it for the optimisations, I just prefer its package manager and ecosystem.