How to Install Source Files in Ubuntu

For all those who are beginners in any linux(ubuntu) find hard to find the package files of their distro and end up in finding an source package(which is either in tar.gz or .gz).. so now people think how to install these source files.....

lets now see how would you be installing source files in ubuntu.....

source files contain the programs and hence before the installation you need to compile them... so you need to install the build-essentials from the synaptic package manager.... else this build-essentials is already present in the cd.. and so you can install it.....else you can install it typing it in the terminal by

sudo aptitude install build-essential

suppose you have a source file name src.tar.gz, what you do initially is that you need to extract the source files and then in the terminal....

navigate to the folder where the source file is extracted using the cd commands..... and then

type the following...
./configure

make

sudo make install

clean install

lets see what each one of them does...

./configure..... checks whether the required dependencies are available on your system or not..... if not an error is reported....

make compiles the source code and make install is used to install the program in to the location

if it asks for an installation location it is recommended to install all the source to /usr/src

clean install removes any temporary files created in the installation process of the source

and thats it your source file in installed in your system.

Source : http://www.ubuntugeek.com/how-to-install-source-files-in-ubuntu.html