Procedure how install source packages - for brand new users.

Hope my link to animated gif will work.
1. Install 'build-essential' package. (Synaptic)
2. Extract source package contents (r/click 'Extract Here')
3. Change directory (in terminal) to the one just extracted.
4. Type ./configure (maybe already configured in which case proceed to 5.)
5. Type 'make'
6. Type 'sudo make install' or 'sudo checkinstall'**
**requires package 'checkinstall' ( Using checkinstall the package will be
shown in Synaptic and can easily be uninstalled - if not using checkinstall
run 'sudo make uninstall' it will work if provided for by the programmer.)

For Ubuntu. An example shown here

(Source packages like .tar; .tar.gz; .tar.bz; .tgz)

 

Nice one. But I think the gif may be too much for new users, especially since you start with ./configure ... They might not get the meaning of ./. Or what make means.

checkinstall is a very nice touch. You just inspired another article

Regards,
Mrk

 

Thanks Mrk.
I will probably benefit from that as well, being a relatively new user, albeit
not 'fresh out of the box'.

 

nice. also the README and/or install files normally tell you something about installing the software too.