In this project, you will download a GNU software package, compile, and install it. I am a big emacs fan, so I am going to show how to download and compile it in this project. emacs most likely already comes standard on a Linux system, as it is a fairly popular editor. As an administrator, you will be exposed to many editors, such as vi, pico, and emacs. You are always guaranteed to have vi on the system. You don’t have to install emacs, just pick a package that sounds interesting (stay away from gcc, though)

Step by Step

1. Change your directory to a scratch space that will allow you to compile (typically /usr/local/src).

[root@ford /root ]# cd /usr/local/src

2. Go to the GNU FTP site and download emacs. The latest version as of this writing is emacs-21.2. The software is located at ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/emacs/.

3. Untar the package.

[root@ford /usr/local/src ]# tar -xvzf emacs-21.2.tar.gz

4. cd into the package directory and read the documentation, notably README and INSTALL.

[root@ford /usr/local/src ]# cd emacs-21.2
[root@ford emacs-21.2]# more README
[root@ford emacs-21.2]# more INSTALL

5. Run the configure script with the standard options: --prefix=/usr/local.

[root@ford emacs-21.2]# ./configure --prefix=/usr/local

6. Run make.

[root@ford emacs-21.2]# make

7. If the make completed without any errors, type make install.

[root@ford emacs-21.2]# make install

8. Make sure that you can run the software as both root and a regular user.

[root@ford emacs-21.2]# cd /usr/local/bin
[root@ford bin]# ./emacs
[root@ford bin]# su - sgraham
[sgraham@ford ]-> /usr/local/bin/emacs
[sgraham@ford ]-> exit
[root@ford bin]#

9. Do any cleanup and have a fun time using the software.

[root@ford bin]# cd /usr/local/src/emacs-21.2
[root@ford bin]# make clean

This chapter is from Linux Administration, A Beginner's Guide, third edition, by Graham and Shah. (McGraw-Hill/Osborne, 2002, ISBN: 0072225629). Check it out at your favorite bookstore today. Buy this book now.