Building from source basics in Linux CLI - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Building from source basics

📖 Scenario: You want to install a simple program by building it from source code on a Linux system. This is common when you want the latest version or a customized build.We will simulate the steps to prepare, configure, build, and check the output of a source build process using command line commands.

🎯 Goal: Learn the basic commands to build a program from source: unpacking the source, configuring the build, compiling the code, and checking the build output.

📋 What You'll Learn

Use the tar command to unpack a source archive

Use the ./configure script to prepare the build

Use the make command to compile the source

Use the ls command to check the build output files

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Building software from source is common when you want the latest features or need to customize the program beyond pre-built packages.

💼 Career

Many IT and developer roles require building and installing software from source to manage dependencies and customize environments.

1

Unpack the source archive

Use the tar command to unpack the source archive named example-1.0.tar.gz in the current directory.

Linux CLI

# Use tar to unpack example-1.0.tar.gz
# Your code here

Need a hint?

The -xzf options tell tar to extract a gzip compressed archive.

2

Run the configure script

Change directory into example-1.0 and run the ./configure script to prepare the build environment.

Linux CLI

tar -xzf example-1.0.tar.gz
# Change directory and run ./configure
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use cd example-1.0 to enter the source folder, then run ./configure.

3

Compile the source code

Use the make command to compile the source code inside the example-1.0 directory.

Linux CLI

tar -xzf example-1.0.tar.gz
cd example-1.0
./configure
# Compile the source with make
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Simply run make to start compiling after configuration.

4

Check the build output

Use the ls command to list the files in the example-1.0 directory and confirm the build created the executable named example.

Linux CLI

tar -xzf example-1.0.tar.gz
cd example-1.0
./configure
make
# List files to check for example executable
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Run ls and look for the example file in the output.