Installing a compiler

**deathwing61** · 10-04-2008

ok well it seams to me that without a compiler already installed its impossible to install anything since you need to compile it...and i can't get a compiler because...you need to compile it. i've spent quite a while trying to fix this so now i'm here asking for help. solutions?

**HROAdmin26** · 10-04-2008

Code:

apt-get install build-essentials

**iwanabeguru** · 10-04-2008

Welcome to the forum!

First forget about compiling softwares it's only needed in very special cases especially in debian.

You can install many things from the repositories.
aptitude is the tool for installing softwares or Synaptic if you want a full graphical package manager.

now aptitude basics

aptitude search program name

it search the repositories and show you the available programs which contains the name.

aptitude install package_name will install the package.

aptitude remove package_name remove the package and its dependecies

aptitude purge package_name remove the package ,dependences of the package and the configuration files.

install , remove , and purge only allowed for root user

and the solution for your problem is

aptitude install build-essentials

**L4Linux** · 10-04-2008

If you are not a programmer and just want to install programs,use

Code:

apt-get install program_name

To update ALL your programs give the following 2 commands:

Code:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

Or you can use System->Administration->Synaptic which is very easy to use and has a GUI. If it is not installed(sorry but i don't know it, i use ubuntu). you can install it like this

Code:

sudo apt-get install synaptic

**deathwing61** · 10-04-2008

good golly gosh!
thanks guys, apt-get wasn't doin it for me but synaptic is goin alright. and looking at all the packages i think that i've started to drool. any favorites? i will be doing some programming in the future (once i learn a bit more about linux i'll be using it as the OS for my robots)

edit: and sorry about the attitude in the first post. i like to fix my own problems and sadly i'm one of thos "can't ask for directions" kind of guys.

**L4Linux** · 10-04-2008

For web application check eclipse and netbeans. For C++(i think, i am not a programmer) the hottest framework is QT 4.4, which is used by KDE4. So check KDevelop(for qt 4.4, it is still in beta) and Qt designer.

The best cd/dvd burning program is k3b by far.
For music there is Amarok.
For video files(almost everything) there is vlc.

I posted the command incorrectly. The correct is

Code:

sudo apt-get install program_name

**NeoPjcpp** · 10-06-2008

I'm also installing a compiler and I use apt-get update, then apt-get install build-essential, only to get the message:

Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done

Package build essential is not available, but is referred to by another package. This may mean the package is missing, has been obsolete, or is available only from other sources. ...

What's the problem?

**L4Linux** · 10-06-2008

It is build-essential. Are you typing it correctly?You can use Synaptic to find it. It should be in the Development section.
Do you have repositories enabled?(In Ubuntu it is on the Main repository, so if you have install anything at all, it should be enabled).

**NeoPjcpp** · 10-07-2008

Thanks. I checked Synaptic Package Manager, it says gcc is installed. But when I install a software called MapServer, the system says

Code:

no acceptable C compiler found in $PATH

, so I cannot make. I then echo $PATH and get this:

Code:

/usr/local/sbin:usr/local/bin:usr/sbin:usr/bin:sbin:/bin

Am I supposed to set PATH or something?

**L4Linux** · 10-07-2008

In Ubuntu gcc is in /usr/bin and Ubuntu is based on Debian...
Type

Code:

which gcc

It should give an output like /usr/bin. This is the path of gcc.
You can go to synaptic again, right click gcc->properties and see what it says in the "Installed files" tab.

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