source: gnome/gnome-intro.xml@ ce39b28

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<partintro>
<title>Introduction to <application><acronym>GNOME</acronym></application></title>

<para>This chapter presents the instructions to install a complete
<application><acronym>GNOME</acronym></application>-&gnome-version; desktop
environment and a limited
<application><acronym>GNOME</acronym></application> 1.4 library environment that is
sufficient to run <application><acronym>GNOME</acronym></application> 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 <ulink
url="http://www.gnome.org/start/&gnome-version;/notes/rninstallation.html">release notes</ulink>.</para>

<para>The installation of <application><acronym>GNOME</acronym></application>-&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
<application><acronym>GNOME</acronym></application> on your machine.
<application><acronym>GNOME</acronym></application>-&gnome-version;
packages utilize the <parameter>--prefix=option</parameter> for
<command>configure</command>, so you will
use that and an environment variable (<envar>GNOME_PREFIX</envar>) to add flexibility to 
the installation.</para>

<para>To install 
<application><acronym>GNOME</acronym></application> as a desktop
alternative, it is recommended that
you install with <parameter>--prefix=/usr</parameter>. If you are not sure that you are going
to keep the <application><acronym>GNOME</acronym></application> installation, you may install with 
<parameter>--prefix=/opt/gnome-&gnome-version;</parameter>.  Setting the
environment variable and the
additional edits required by the second option are covered on the
pre-installation page. Since
<application><acronym>GNOME</acronym></application> has matured,
installing with <parameter>--prefix=/usr</parameter> is the preferable approach.</para>

<para>If you choose the second option, removal of
<application><acronym>GNOME</acronym></application>-&gnome-version; is as easy
as removing the edits from the pre-installation page and issuing the
following command:</para>
<screen><userinput><command>rm /opt/gnome-&gnome-version; -r </command></userinput></screen>

<para>If your system was completely built per <acronym>LFS</acronym> and
<acronym>BLFS</acronym>
instructions, you have a very good chance of using
<application><acronym>GNOME</acronym></application>-&gnome-version;
after your first install.  If you are a typical <acronym>LFS</acronym> 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
<application><acronym>GNOME</acronym></application>-&gnome-version; into your unique setup, but
you will have to install 28 to 33 packages before you can run
<application><acronym>GNOME</acronym></application>
through any testing (assuming your window manager is preinstalled and
tested). You should anticipate that you will be rebuilding
<application><acronym>GNOME</acronym></application> at least
once to make adjustments for your setup.</para>

<para>If you are building a
<application><acronym>GNOME</acronym></application> 1.4 desktop environment, you would
install only those libraries in the
<application><acronym>GNOME</acronym></application> 1.4 chapter
<emphasis>and</emphasis> any dependencies listed on those pages, whether
labeled or not. <application><acronym>GNOME</acronym></application> packages without pages are simply installed with:
<screen><command>./configure --prefix=/opt/gnome &amp;&amp;
make &amp;&amp;
make install</command></screen>
These instructions are simplistic to facilitate removal of
<application><acronym>GNOME</acronym></application> 1.4
from <acronym>BLFS</acronym> systems when it is no longer necessary.  These instructions
may be refined later to comply with <acronym>BLFS</acronym> standards for file locations,
specifically <filename class='directory'>/opt/gnome/etc</filename> to
<filename class='directory'>/etc</filename> and <filename
class='directory'>/opt/gnome/var</filename> to
<filename class='directory'>/var</filename>.  You should consider using
the <application><acronym>GNOME</acronym></application> 1.4 hint
located at <ulink url="http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/hints/"/> if you
have no interest in <application><acronym>GNOME</acronym></application>-&gnome-version;.</para>

<!--
<para><application><acronym>GNOME</acronym></application>-&gnome-version; dependencies</para>
<para>Required</para>
<para>
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<xref linkend="popt"/>
</para>
<para>Optional</para>
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<xref linkend="libxml2"/>,
<xref linkend="libxslt"/>,
<xref linkend="DocBook"/>,
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<xref linkend="fam"/>
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</partintro>