Best Linux for compiling from source code?

[Surreal Killa]

I'm basically wondering which is the best Linux distro for compiling applications from source.

[oz]

You can do it with any distro, but Gentoo might be the most popular one that does it by default. The best would be purely a matter of opinion.

[Surreal Killa]

By best I mean one that generally works. I've tried compiling on various distros and some things work on some, others don't, and vice versa.

[MikeTbob]

By best I mean one that generally works. I've tried compiling on various distros and some things work on some, others don't, and vice versa.

That's mostly just a matter of having the correct packages installed, Whatever they may be. All Linux distro's will compile source code as long as you have the Dependencies met.

[Dapper Dan]

Far less known than Gentoo, but an excellent distro to compile from source is CRUX.

[netstrider]

If you're really into compiling and understanding the nature of Linux and why certain things compile on certain distributions you might want to try LinuxFromScratch (LFS).

Basically, they take you step-by-step through compiling your own Linux distribution package-by-package. That way you will learn quite a lot, understand the dependancy factor and understand what's actually being utilised when compiling etc.

Best of all is, it's not really that hard because you just follow the steps. Gentoo is equally adequate though I suppose.

Whatever floats your boat

[dxqcanada]

Why are you looking for a Linux Distribution that is best at compiling applications from source ?

[kpbotbot]

Why are you looking for a Linux Distribution that is best at compiling applications from source ?

i may not be the one who posted the thread, but may i please answer this? ^^ i was googling and then i registered..

uh. im a mandriva user and i download source archives for offline installation. i dont have an internet connection all the time.

the problem i always encounter is that i cant compile em because i lack a lot of dependencies..

hopefully i made sense..

[rokytnji]

To meet dependenciy issues I'm pretty sure you need to be connected to the net to install said needed dependencies. Or write what they are on a piece of paper and download later and copy to whatever storage medium you are using to install source archives. I think. Never done it that way myself so I aint sure.

[kpbotbot]

i tried to do that.

takes a lot of time. and sometimes, dependency A dependends on dependency B, which dependes on another dependency..

how i wish there was a distro that had almost all compilers and libraries(or whatever is needed for most apps).