Hi Brad, On 4/9/19, Brad Rogers wrote: > On Tue, 9 Apr 2019 11:35:05 -0400 > Lee wrote: > > Hello Lee, > >>What are the downsides to getting the source code and doing the >>build/install myself vs. using a pre-built package other than I'm >>responsible for noticing the software needs to be updated? > > Mostly, it's time. Also, you're responsible for installing any required > new dependencies, be they development packages or binaries. Which, > again, comes down to time. Such package requirements aren't always > immediately obvious, and may not even be mentioned in release notes. > > For this reason, there's only one piece of software I compile and install > 'by hand' as it were.
Yes, building & installing yourself takes time. Hopefully not much after working the kinks out on the first build/install, but still.. >>The latest example is ttcp >> http://nuttcp.net/nuttcp/latest/ has 8.1.4 >> https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/nuttcp has 6.1.2-4 > > I was going to suggest adding stable-backports to your sources.list. > Assuming, of course, that you're running stable. A quick check of > Debian packages shows that wouldn't help in this case. A fact, no doubt > you're aware of, hence your query. Yes. gawk being the other package I'd like to have on the latest version, but doesn't seem to be in backports :( >>If I ever decide to go with the debian package I just uninstall the >>software I built and .. anything else that needs to be done before > > Yes, made easier if the install mechanism creates a useful log and you > can later 'make --uninstall'. > >>installing an official package? > > I'd back up any config file(s) just in case anything 'blows up'. Which raises another question, but I'll start another thread for that. > That > is to say, if there's any incompatibility between Debian's way of writing > the config files, and the package creator's way of doing so. The Debian > package installer may write the configs somewhere other than where the > creator does, for example. But they're still all text files - right? There's nothing like MS Windows registry that you might have to clean after uninstalling something or installing in a different location? Thank you! Lee
