Re: ./configure error
Benjamin R. Haskell <
alpine@...>
2011-09-04 18:10:32 GMT
On Sun, 4 Sep 2011, false wrote:
> I downloaded the apline file at:
> ftp://ftp.cac.washington.edu/alpine/alpine.tar.Z and untared it.
>
> When I type ./configure I get an error that states "Terminfo/termcap
> not found"
>
> I did a search and found where someone else had this problem and the
> proposed solution
> (http://mailman2.u.washington.edu/pipermail/alpine-info/2008-January/000075.html)
> was the following:
>
> "Well, what you tried to do is to tell programs to load libncurses when
> then need to load libtermcap. Do not do that.
>
> The problem probably stems from the fact that you are missing the header
> files. Look to see where in your distribution is the ncurses-devel package
> and install it. That will probably fix your problem"
>
> I am completely new to this and have no idea what this means.
For in-depth explanations, try googling:
"./configure ; make ; make install"
That is the "standard" installation process for software that uses the
autotools packages (= autoconf, automake, etc.)
Each of those tools has evolved over the past several decades to provide
a workable solution to the problem of differences between the various
UNIX-like operating systems.
If you've never compiled software before, in-depth explanations will
seem like they're in a foreign language, because they're discussing the
solutions to problems you've probably never even contemplated.
A fairly simplified explanation for the text you've quoted:
In order to know how to display text and receive input from a terminal
emulator, Alpine uses either the terminfo package or termcap (terminfo
is essentially a newer, improved version of termcap -- in both cases
'term' = terminal emulator. 'cap' = capabilities.).
To build a package (alpine) that uses terminfo/termcap information, the
usual interface (for the programmer to use) is the 'curses' library.
'ncurses' is a widely-used implementation of 'curses'.
'Header files' are files that allow a program to be compiled to use a
particular library. If you use an operating system that has binary
packages, often the 'header files' are not included in the binary
package, but in a separate 'devel' (= development) package.
So, in order to compile alpine, you need the development files for the
ncurses package. It depends on what O/S you're using, but those files
are often available in a package called ncurses-dev or ncurses-devel.
So, install that first, and the rest should work.
Or else you'll run into some other library that Alpine needs, in which
case repeat the process of figuring out what header files you're missing
and installing them.
Depending on your goal, there might be better solutions to the problem.
If you want to learn about programming and compiling, the above steps
should start you off, though you might be better off finding a more
general introduction. If you just want to use a recent version of
Alpine, you can probably find a precompiled version for whatever O/S
you're using. Provide more details and someone here can probably point
you in the right direction.
--
Best,
Ben
On Sun, 4 Sep 2011, false wrote:
> I downloaded the apline file at:
> ftp://ftp.cac.washington.edu/alpine/alpine.tar.Z and untared it.
>
> When I type ./configure I get an error that states "Terminfo/termcap
> not found"
>
> I did a search and found where someone else had this problem and the
> proposed solution
> (http://mailman2.u.washington.edu/pipermail/alpine-info/2008-January/000075.html)
> was the following:
>
> "Well, what you tried to do is to tell programs to load libncurses when
> then need to load libtermcap. Do not do that.
>
> The problem probably stems from the fact that you are missing the header
> files. Look to see where in your distribution is the ncurses-devel package
> and install it. That will probably fix your problem"
>
> I am completely new to this and have no idea what this means.
For in-depth explanations, try googling:
"./configure ; make ; make install"
That is the "standard" installation process for software that uses the
autotools packages (= autoconf, automake, etc.)
Each of those tools has evolved over the past several decades to provide
a workable solution to the problem of differences between the various
UNIX-like operating systems.
If you've never compiled software before, in-depth explanations will
seem like they're in a foreign language, because they're discussing the
solutions to problems you've probably never even contemplated.
A fairly simplified explanation for the text you've quoted:
In order to know how to display text and receive input from a terminal
emulator, Alpine uses either the terminfo package or termcap (terminfo
is essentially a newer, improved version of termcap -- in both cases
'term' = terminal emulator. 'cap' = capabilities.).
To build a package (alpine) that uses terminfo/termcap information, the
usual interface (for the programmer to use) is the 'curses' library.
'ncurses' is a widely-used implementation of 'curses'.
'Header files' are files that allow a program to be compiled to use a
particular library. If you use an operating system that has binary
packages, often the 'header files' are not included in the binary
package, but in a separate 'devel' (= development) package.
So, in order to compile alpine, you need the development files for the
ncurses package. It depends on what O/S you're using, but those files
are often available in a package called ncurses-dev or ncurses-devel.
So, install that first, and the rest should work.
Or else you'll run into some other library that Alpine needs, in which
case repeat the process of figuring out what header files you're missing
and installing them.
Depending on your goal, there might be better solutions to the problem.
If you want to learn about programming and compiling, the above steps
should start you off, though you might be better off finding a more
general introduction. If you just want to use a recent version of
Alpine, you can probably find a precompiled version for whatever O/S
you're using. Provide more details and someone here can probably point
you in the right direction.
--
--
Best,
Ben
Thank you,
Hugh
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