Installing Tarballs

[Taylor Peterson]

I too seem to be having trouble installing things from source.  Here is
the message I get when I "./configure":

checking if autoconf needs to be run... no
checking if autoheader needs to be run... no
checking for /usr/pkg/include include directory... no
checking for /usr/pkg/lib library directory... no
checking for /usr/pkg/bin command directory... no
checking for /sw/include include directory... no
checking for /sw/lib library directory... no
checking for /sw/bin command directory... no
checking for /opt/include include directory... no
checking for /opt/lib library directory... no
checking for /opt/bin command directory... no
checking for /opt/local/include include directory... no
checking for /opt/local/lib library directory... no
checking for /opt/local/bin command directory... no
checking for gcc... gcc
checking for C compiler default output file name... configure: error: C
compiler cannot create executables
See `config.log' for more details.

Here is what dpkg -l build-essential shows:
No packages found matching build-essential.

and gcc --version:

This is free software; see the source for copying conditions.  There is
NO
warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE.
 
On Sat, 2006-09-09 at 14:51 +0100, Ewan Mac Mahon wrote:
> On Sat, Sep 09, 2006 at 09:01:41AM -0400, David McCormick wrote:
> > I have tried to install several tarballs
> OK; which tarballs, and why are you not using the package repositories?
> 
> >  and keep getting the error message that gcc compiler is not
> >  installed. 
> What do the commands:
> gcc --version
> and:
> dpkg -l build-essential
> give you as output?
> 
> > I have both Gnome and KDE compilers installed.
> Neither of those are compilers.
> 
> > I am new to Ubuntu but have used Red Hat and Fedora Core for years. is
> > there something different in Ubuntu in the way you install software?
> >
> Yes and no. For the most part all of those systems prefer software to be
> installed via the package manager rather than from source. Ubuntu uses a
> different package manager from RH/Fedora, but the concepts are mostly
> the same. Building from source, however, works in virtually the same way
> on any normal Linux system.
> 
> Some more specificity about what you're trying to build, why, and
> exactly what errors you are getting after executing precisely which
> commands would be useful.
> 
> Ewan