Introduction to GNOME
This chapter presents the instructions to install a complete
GNOME-&gnome-version; desktop
environment and a limited
GNOME 1.4 library environment that is
sufficient to run GNOME 1.4 applications included in this book. The
order of the pages follow the build order defined by the
GNOME development team as published in the release notes.
The installation of GNOME-&gnome-version; is a large undertaking and one we would
like to see you complete with the least amount of stress. One
of the first goals in this installation is to protect your previously
installed software, especially if you are testing
GNOME on your machine.
GNOME-&gnome-version;
packages utilize the --prefix=option for
configure, so you will
use that and an environment variable (GNOME_PREFIX) to add flexibility to
the installation.
To install
GNOME as a desktop
alternative, it is recommended that
you install with --prefix=/usr. If you are not sure that you are going
to keep the GNOME installation, you may install with
--prefix=/opt/gnome-&gnome-version;. Setting the
environment variable and the
additional edits required by the second option are covered on the
pre-installation page. Since
GNOME has matured,
installing with --prefix=/usr is the preferable approach.
If you choose the second option, removal of
GNOME-&gnome-version; is as easy
as removing the edits from the pre-installation page and issuing the
following command:
rm /opt/gnome-&gnome-version; -r
If your system was completely built per LFS and
BLFS
instructions, you have a very good chance of using
GNOME-&gnome-version;
after your first install. If you are a typical LFS user, you have made
modifications to the instructions along the way knowing that you have to
take those modifications into account on future installations. You
should have no problems integrating
GNOME-&gnome-version; into your unique setup, but
you will have to install 28 to 33 packages before you can run
GNOME
through any testing (assuming your window manager is preinstalled and
tested). You should anticipate that you will be rebuilding
GNOME at least
once to make adjustments for your setup.
If you are building a
GNOME 1.4 desktop environment, you would
install only those libraries in the
GNOME 1.4 chapter
and any dependencies listed on those pages, whether
labeled or not. GNOME packages without pages are simply installed with:
./configure --prefix=/opt/gnome &&
make &&
make install
These instructions are simplistic to facilitate removal of
GNOME 1.4
from BLFS systems when it is no longer necessary. These instructions
may be refined later to comply with BLFS standards for file locations,
specifically /opt/gnome/etc to
/etc and /opt/gnome/var to
/var. You should consider using
the GNOME 1.4 hint
located at if you
have no interest in GNOME-&gnome-version;.