source: gnome/gnome-intro.xml@ 276015d2

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<partintro>

  <title>Introduction to GNOME</title>

  <para>This chapter presents the instructions to install a complete
  GNOME-&gnome-version;&gnome-minor-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 follows the build
  order defined by the GNOME development team and documented in the <ulink
  url="http://www.gnome.org/start/&gnome-version;/notes/en/rninstallation.html">
  Release Notes</ulink>.</para>

  <para>The installation of GNOME-&gnome-version;&gnome-minor-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
  <option>--prefix=option</option> passed to <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 GNOME as your desktop of choice, it is recommended that you
  install using <option>--prefix=/usr</option>. If you are not sure that you
  are going to keep the GNOME installation, or you think you will update to the
  newest releases as they become available, you should install with
  <option>--prefix=/opt/gnome-&gnome-version;&gnome-minor-version;</option>.
  Setting the environment variable and the additional edits required by the
  second option are covered in the Pre-Installation Configuration
  section.</para>

  <para>If you choose the second option, removal of
  GNOME-&gnome-version;&gnome-minor-version; is as easy as removing the edits
  from the pre-installation page and issuing the following command (you may
  need to become the <systemitem class='username'>root</systemitem>
  user):</para>

<screen role="root"><userinput>rm -rf /opt/gnome-&gnome-version;&gnome-minor-version;</userinput></screen>

  <para>If your system was completely built per LFS and BLFS instructions,
  you have a very good chance of using
  GNOME-&gnome-version;&gnome-minor-version; after your first installation. 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;&gnome-minor-version; into your unique setup, but you
  will have to install well over 50 packages before you can run GNOME through
  any testing (assuming your windowing system is preinstalled and tested). You
  should anticipate that you will be rebuilding GNOME at least once to make
  adjustments for your setup.</para>

  <para>If you are building a GNOME 1.4 library environment, you would install
  only those libraries in the GNOME 1.4 chapter
  <emphasis role='strong'>and</emphasis> any dependencies listed on those
  pages, whether labeled or not. GNOME packages without pages in the book are
  simply installed with:</para>

<screen><userinput>./configure --prefix=/opt/gnome-1.4 &amp;&amp;
make</userinput></screen>

  <para>Now, as the <systemitem class='username'>root</systemitem> user:</para>

<screen role='root'><userinput>make install</userinput></screen>

  <para>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
  <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 GNOME 1.4 hint located at <ulink url="&hints-root;"/> if you have no
  interest in GNOME-&gnome-version;&gnome-minor-version;.</para>

  <bridgehead renderas="sect3">Alternate Installation Methods</bridgehead>
  <para>As was previously mentioned, building a GNOME desktop from sources is
  a significant project. Some may find it too tedious or time-consuming to
  perform a full installation following the BLFS book. You may wish to review
  the automated methods mentioned in the
  GNOME-&gnome-version; <ulink
  url="http://www.gnome.org/start/2.14/notes/en/rninstallation.html">Release
  Notes</ulink>. Note that using any other method to install
  GNOME-&gnome-version;&gnome-minor-version; other than using the BLFS
  instructions cannot be supported by the BLFS team. Alternate methods are only
  mentioned as a courtesy to builders who would like to build GNOME from
  sources but do not have the time/desire/patience/whatever to follow the
  BLFS book.</para>

</partintro>