When building new software..e.g.mplayer, openoffice, etc.......whats the best directory in the root tree to build it in?

You should build as a user, so a /home account. You only need root for installation.

ok.what Im saying is this:

If your going to install software globaly into your filesystem........like if you want a piece of software installed for all users on the system to use.......maybe like jre........or an mplayer that each user can use.......what would be the best place in the filesystem tree to begin to build that application?

In other words......im not asking where the program should be installed on the system, because generally make install will put the proper files in the proper place........Im asking what directory within the filesystem tree is the proper place to put the tarball ........and unzip it.......and build it.

In other words.........im not asking what bash mode to enter into to build the directory......like user or root.......instead whats the usual file within the filesystem tree to build software in? Would it be /opt...since that file is set aside for "optional software"........or /usr..........or /usr/local?


Just wandering. I have a habit of building within the /opt directory. Just wandering where other linux gurus do this at?

I like to use /usr/local/share

The build tree should be kept private (/home), and not placed into the generally accessible areas unless you want your user population to have access to the source. The /usr, /opt hierarchies are generally for the binaries. /usr/local/src is generally where you would place globally accessessible source/builds.

Interesting.......thank you for your posts. Im putting together a linux learning site and trying to gather the correct information for my tutorials. Instead of just teaching the way that I do, I really wanted to get as many opinions from other users as I could. There seems to be different opinions on this particular subject, so I gather that it depends on the Distro the person is using as much as the persons preference?

The only standards, if your distribution adheres to them, are in the Linux Standards Base. While some file locations are defined (and more will be), there are many areas that are outside the standard. Most of the larger distributions are now LSB compliant, which makes life easier for developers.

mac...........thanks for the link! Thats going to be a big help in my research. I new I could get the right answers here!