Re: why is gtk install so difficult?

[Owen Taylor <otaylor redhat com>]

On Mon, 2003-10-20 at 14:29, Ruben Safir Secretary NYLXS wrote:
> ./confure
> 
> make
> 
> make install
> 
> IMO, That is all that should be needed to compile anything to a sane
> configuration.  How many places can the libraries be sitting? - 4 or 5
> tops?  Use locate in the autoconf file, or find if need be.

After helping people with GTK+ compilation problems for over 6 years
now, I can tell you with some certainty that the problems that result
from the configure script *not* finding the libraries it should find
are far simpler and easier to fix, then the problems from it finding
libraries that it shouldn't find.

There are only two configurations that I consider supportable:
 
 - Everything in a single prefix. (The GTK+ installation docs show
   this.)

 - Everything in the system install locations.

Many other configurations are possible, but diagnosing what is
going wrong with other configurations usually takes an expert
with access to the system.

Regards,
						Owen