Slamd64Builds :: Using SlackBuilds

Using SlackBuilds

SlackBuilds provide a system to consistently build packages from source without actually providing binary packages. Please pay careful attention to the following sections, as they should clear up any confusion you may have.

Step 1: Download the SlackBuild

The tarballs hosted on our site contain several files, including at a minimum a .SlackBuild, .info, README, and slack-desc file. Untar the SlackBuild archive (nameofprogram.tar.gz) into your build environment. The resulting directory tree should look like this:

driftnet/ |-- README |-- driftnet.SlackBuild |-- driftnet.info `-- slack-desc

Our repoository can also be accessed through git with git clone http://builds.slamd64.com/slamd64builds.git.

Step 2: Download the source code

Our SlackBuilds try to make it as easy as possible to build software. With that in mind, you can get the source code for anything we have by running source *.info && wget $DOWNLOAD.

Step 3: Edit the SlackBuild script if necessary

If the version of driftnet is newer than what is specified in the SlackBuild script, you will need to change the script accordingly. Using your preferred editor, open the driftnet.SlackBuild script and find the line which starts with 'VERSION'

VERSION=1.6.7

Change this line to reflect the current version of the driftnet source.

If a newer version of some application does not compile correctly with a simple change of the 'VERSION' string, please contact us to let us know.

Step 4: Execute the SlackBuild (as root)

If necessary, make the script executable with chmod, then run the script:

chmod +x driftnet.SlackBuild ./driftnet.SlackBuild

Step 5: Install the package

Assuming everything happened according to plan (the compile finished without errors), the finished package should be in the directory declared as "OUTPUT" in the SlackBuild script (this defaults to the /tmp directory). Use installpkg to install it; you'll probably want to move it to some other location for safekeeping after it's installed.

Other Resources

This tutorial heavily based on the SlackBuilds.org HOWTO

For more information on using, editing, and creating SlackBuild scripts, have a look at these and other tutorials at SlackWiki.org.