Once you have all of the prerequisites installed, the next step is to run the configure script.
The configure script, in this case, is generated by the GNU Autotools, a set of tools that examine lots and lots (and lots and lots) of variables about your system. It checks your compiler, it checks your hardware, it checks all kinds of stuff, and as a result of all of these checks (literally hundreds), it builds a makefile that the compiler uses to build the binary executable.
Simple, right? Give it a try. But first, read the instructions:
2. Generating Makefiles
=======================
This section contains two parts, one for generating makefiles from svn
versions and one for generating makefiles from release versions.
2a. Generating the Makefile for svn versions:
=============================================
This step is only needed for svn versions.
To create the makefile just type
% ./autogen.sh
This will create the configure script and will run it. All parameters
of autogen.sh are passed to configure. Read the next section about the
parameters which can be passed to configure.
All right, seems simple enough. Run it and see what happens:
[gregdek@ip-10-242-118-147 freeciv]$ ./autogen.sh
+ checking for autoconf >= 2.58 ... found 2.61, ok.
+ checking for autoheader >= 2.58 ... found 2.61, ok.
+ checking for automake >= 1.6 ... found 1.10, ok.
+ checking for aclocal >= 1.6 ... found 1.10, ok.
+ checking for libtoolize >= 1.4.3 ...
You must have libtoolize installed to compile freeciv.
Download the appropriate package for your distribution,
or get the source tarball at ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/libtool/
+ checking for xgettext >= 0.10.36 ... found 0.16.1, ok.
+ checking for msgfmt >= 0.10.36 ... found 0.16.1, ok.
Oops. Looks like the script found a missing dependency that's not documented! Fortunately, GNU Autotools found it. Install libtoolize -- or libtool, which is it? Anyway, it's probably one of them:
[root@ip-10-242-118-147 FREECIV]# yum install libtoolize
(snip)
No package libtoolize available.
Nothing to do
[root@ip-10-242-118-147 FREECIV]# yum install libtool
(snip)
Installed:
libtool.i386 0:1.5.24-3.fc8
Complete!
All right, try that again.
[gregdek@ip-10-242-118-147 freeciv]$ ./autogen.sh
+ checking for autoconf >= 2.58 ... found 2.61, ok.
+ checking for autoheader >= 2.58 ... found 2.61, ok.
+ checking for automake >= 1.6 ... found 1.10, ok.
+ checking for aclocal >= 1.6 ... found 1.10, ok.
+ checking for libtoolize >= 1.4.3 ... found 1.5.24, ok.
+ checking for xgettext >= 0.10.36 ... found 0.16.1, ok.
+ checking for msgfmt >= 0.10.36 ... found 0.16.1, ok.
+ running aclocal ...
+ running autoheader ...
+ running autoconf ...
+ running libtoolize ...
Putting files in AC_CONFIG_AUX_DIR, `bootstrap'.
+ running automake ...
configure.ac:63: installing `bootstrap/missing'
configure.ac:63: installing `bootstrap/install-sh'
ai/Makefile.am: installing `bootstrap/depcomp'
common/Makefile.am:97: `%'-style pattern rules are a GNU make extension
utility/Makefile.am:60: `%'-style pattern rules are a GNU make extension
+ removing config.cache ...
+ running configure ...
I am going to run ./configure with no arguments - if you wish
to pass any to it, please specify them on the ./autogen.sh command line.
OK, so far so good! It's successfully created a configure script, and now it's running that script. Fingers crossed...
checking build system type... i686-pc-linux-gnu
checking host system type... i686-pc-linux-gnu
checking for a BSD-compatible install... /usr/bin/install -c
checking whether build environment is sane... yes
checking for a thread-safe mkdir -p... /bin/mkdir -p
checking for gawk... gawk
checking whether make sets $(MAKE)... yes
checking for style of include used by make... GNU
checking for gcc... gcc
checking for C compiler default output file name... a.out
checking whether the C compiler works... yes
checking whether we are cross compiling... no
checking for suffix of executables...
checking for suffix of object files... o
checking whether we are using the GNU C compiler... yes
checking whether gcc accepts -g... yes
checking for gcc option to accept ISO C89... none needed
checking dependency style of gcc... gcc3
checking how to run the C preprocessor... gcc -E
checking for grep that handles long lines and -e... /bin/grep
checking for egrep... /bin/grep -E
checking for ANSI C header files... yes
checking for sys/types.h... yes
checking for sys/stat.h... yes
checking for stdlib.h... yes
checking for string.h... yes
checking for memory.h... yes
checking for strings.h... yes
checking for inttypes.h... yes
checking for stdint.h... yes
checking for unistd.h... yes
checking for gethostbyname2... yes
checking for inet_pton... yes
checking for inet_ntop... yes
checking for getnameinfo... yes
checking for AF_INET6... yes
checking for a sed that does not truncate output... /bin/sed
checking for gawk... (cached) gawk
checking for gcc... (cached) gcc
checking whether we are using the GNU C compiler... (cached) yes
checking whether gcc accepts -g... (cached) yes
checking for gcc option to accept ISO C89... (cached) none needed
checking dependency style of gcc... (cached) gcc3
checking how to run the C preprocessor... gcc -E
checking for g++... no
checking for c++... no
checking for gpp... no
checking for aCC... no
checking for CC... no
checking for cxx... no
checking for cc++... no
checking for cl.exe... no
checking for FCC... no
checking for KCC... no
checking for RCC... no
checking for xlC_r... no
checking for xlC... no
checking whether we are using the GNU C++ compiler... no
checking whether g++ accepts -g... no
checking dependency style of g++... none
checking whether the C++ compiler works... no
configure: error: no acceptable C++ compiler found in $PATH
See `config.log' for more details.
Wait... what? But... but... it's written in C! Why do you need a C++ compiler for C?
Annoyed, Google "freeciv c++", looking for clues. (Remember: Google is your friend.) And on the first page of search results, there is this gem of wisdom:
"Freeciv is a free turn-based multiplayer strategy game, in which each player becomes the leader ... Mostly written in C."
Mostly written in C. Following a few links, discover that at least part of it is written in C++. Sigh. So, install the GNU C++ compiler -- Googling "gnu c++ fedora" tells us that the package name is likely called gcc-c++.
[root@ip-10-242-118-147 ~]# yum install gcc-c++
(snip)
Installed:
gcc-c++.i386 0:4.1.2-33
Dependency Installed:
libstdc++-devel.i386 0:4.1.2-33
Complete!
Try all that again.
[gregdek@ip-10-242-118-147 freeciv]$ ./autogen.sh
+ checking for autoconf >= 2.58 ... found 2.61, ok.
+ checking for autoheader >= 2.58 ... found 2.61, ok.
+ checking for automake >= 1.6 ... found 1.10, ok.
(snip to where we broke the last time...)
checking for g++... g++
checking whether we are using the GNU C++ compiler... yes
(snip to where we fail again...)
checking for gzgets in -lz... no
configure: error: Could not find zlib library.
configure failed
Another undocumented dependency.
So take stock at this point of where you are.
Freeciv is a good program. It runs on many platforms. There are dozens of active developers working on pieces of the codebase at any given time. And yet, in the space of 15 minutes, you have already found a handful of places where the documentation could be improved -- and you haven't even made it to a first successful build!
This is what complex software is like. Getting it 100% right is incredibly hard, and there are always little places to improve.
Anyway, back to business. Missing zlib? Install zlib.
[root@ip-10-242-118-147 ~]# yum install zlib
(snip)
Package zlib-1.2.3-14.fc8.i386 already installed and latest version
Nothing to do
That's odd. But Google is your friend, and Googling "freeciv zlib" leads to this exact problem -- and it's a common problem. You need development libraries for zlib.
Many FOSS projects split their libraries in two. They provide runtime libraries, and they provide development libraries. In fact, if you read the INSTALL document all the way down to section 10:
To compile freeciv on a debian system you need the following packages:
Common requirements:
gcc
libc6-dev
libreadline4-dev
zlib1g-dev
xlib6g-dev
Well, this isn't a Debian system, it's a Fedora system -- but the principle is the same. You need development libraries. Googling "fedora zlib" returns, in the top link, a reference to zlib-devel. So try that:
[root@ip-10-242-118-147 ~]# yum install zlib-devel
(snip)
Installed:
zlib-devel.i386 0:1.2.3-14.fc8
Complete!
Try, try again.
[gregdek@ip-10-242-118-147 freeciv]$ ./autogen.sh
(snip to the next error...)
configure: error: could not guess which client to compile
configure failed
It clearly says in the INSTALL file (you did read the INSTALL file very closely, didn't you?) that "Gtk+" is the default client. So what guess is required?
Going back a little farther up in the log, though, you see the problem:
configure: checking for which client to compile:...
checking for pkg-config... /usr/bin/pkg-config
checking for GTK+ - version >= 2.4.0... no
*** Could not run GTK+ test program, checking why...
*** The test program failed to compile or link. See the file config.log for the
*** exact error that occured. This usually means GTK+ is incorrectly installed.
checking for sdl-config... no
checking for SDL - version >= 1.1.4... no
*** The sdl-config script installed by SDL could not be found
*** If SDL was installed in PREFIX, make sure PREFIX/bin is in
*** your path, or set the SDL_CONFIG environment variable to the
*** full path to sdl-config.
checking for X... no
checking whether Xfuncproto was supplied... no, found: FUNCPROTO=15 NARROWPROTO
checking for Xfuncproto control definition FUNCPROTO... yes: 15
checking for Xfuncproto control definition NARROWPROTO... yes: 1
checking pkg-config is at least version 0.9.0... yes
checking for PNG... no
checking for png_read_image in -lpng12... no
checking for png_read_image in -lpng... no
checking png.h usability... no
checking png.h presence... no
checking for png.h... no
checking extra paths for Xpm... library no, include no
checking for XOpenDisplay in X library -lX11... no
checking will compile gui-ftwl... no
checking will compile gui-beos... no
configure: error: could not guess which client to compile
configure failed
It seems to want a GTK+ version of greater than 2.4.0. Isn't that what you installed?
[gregdek@ip-10-242-118-147 freeciv]$ rpm -q gtk+
gtk+-1.2.10-59.fc8
Hm! Stuck? Once again, Google is your friend. Google for "Fedora gtk+" and the very first link is to a discussion on a mailing list, where someone asks, "is there a gtk+2?" And a helpful Fedora community member says, "yes, but it's called gtk2".
So try that.
[root@ip-10-242-118-147 ~]# yum install gtk2
(snip)
Installed:
gtk2.i386 0:2.12.8-2.fc8
Dependency Installed:
cups-libs.i386 1:1.3.9-2.fc8 libXcomposite.i386 0:0.4.0-3.fc8
libXcursor.i386 0:1.1.9-1.fc8 libXfixes.i386 0:4.0.3-2.fc8
libXinerama.i386 0:1.0.2-3.fc8 libXrandr.i386 0:1.2.2-1.fc8
Complete!
OK, that's a lot of extra stuff, but if gtk2 needs it, then gtk2 needs it.
Try, try again.
(snip)
checking for GTK+ - version >= 2.4.0... no
*** Could not run GTK+ test program, checking why...
*** The test program failed to compile or link. See the file config.log for the
*** exact error that occured. This usually means GTK+ is incorrectly installed.
(snip)
configure: error: could not guess which client to compile
configure failed
Same exact error. Maybe there's a gtk2-devel?
[root@ip-10-242-118-147 ~]# yum install gtk2-devel
(snip)
Installed:
gtk2-devel.i386 0:2.12.8-2.fc8
Dependency Installed:
atk-devel.i386 0:1.20.0-1.fc8
cairo-devel.i386 0:1.4.14-1.fc8
docbook-dtds.noarch 0:1.0-33.fc8
docbook-style-dsssl.noarch 0:1.79-4.1
docbook-style-xsl.noarch 0:1.73.2-5.fc8
docbook-utils.noarch 0:0.6.14-11.fc8
fontconfig-devel.i386 0:2.4.2-5.fc8
freetype-devel.i386 0:2.3.5-5.fc8
gc.i386 0:7.0-6.fc8
glib2-devel.i386 0:2.14.6-2.fc8
gtk-doc.noarch 0:1.9-4.fc8
libX11-devel.i386 0:1.1.3-4.fc8
libXau-devel.i386 0:1.0.3-3.fc8
libXcursor-devel.i386 0:1.1.9-1.fc8
libXdamage.i386 0:1.1.1-3.fc8
libXdmcp-devel.i386 0:1.0.2-4.fc8
libXext-devel.i386 0:1.0.1-4.fc8
libXfixes-devel.i386 0:4.0.3-2.fc8
libXft-devel.i386 0:2.1.12-3.fc8
libXi-devel.i386 0:1.1.3-1.fc8
libXinerama-devel.i386 0:1.0.2-3.fc8
libXrandr-devel.i386 0:1.2.2-1.fc8
libXrender-devel.i386 0:0.9.4-1.fc8
libXxf86vm.i386 0:1.0.1-4.fc8
libpng-devel.i386 2:1.2.33-1.fc8
libxcb-devel.i386 0:1.1-1.1.fc8
mesa-libGL.i386 0:7.0.2-3.fc8
mesa-libGL-devel.i386 0:7.0.2-3.fc8
openjade.i386 0:1.3.2-30.fc8
opensp.i386 0:1.5.2-6.fc8
pango-devel.i386 0:1.18.4-1.fc8
perl-SGMLSpm.noarch 0:1.03ii-16.2.1
rarian.i386 0:0.6.0-4.fc8
rarian-compat.i386 0:0.6.0-4.fc8
sgml-common.noarch 0:0.6.3-21.fc8
w3m.i386 0:0.5.2-5.fc8
xml-common.noarch 0:0.6.3-21.fc8
xorg-x11-proto-devel.noarch 0:7.3-3.fc8
Complete!
There is, indeed -- and it brings in a ton of dependencies! Including -devel versions of other dependencies you thought you'd satisfied, such as atk-devel and cairo-devel.
Imagine if you had to sort through all of these dependencies yourself, by hand. With all of the effort you've already gone through to identify and satisfy a relatively small number of dependencies, imagine the work that would be required. As imperfect as this process clearly is, it could be orders of magnitude worse.
Try, try again.
****************** Configuration Summary ******************
Build freeciv client: yes
Debugging support: some
Client frontends:
Gtk-2.0: yes
SDL: no
Xaw: no
Win32: no
FTWL: no
Stub: no
Build freeciv server: yes
Debugging support: some
Auth database support: no
Now type 'make' to compile freeciv.
Blink.
It worked! It worked it worked it worked it worked!
You are, at long last, ready to make.
