Member Avatar for blackspider

Okay, so I feel dumb.. I'm trying to ./configure something, but it comes up with an error saying that I don't have an acceptable C Compiler... Fair 'nuff...

The question is, where do I get one, how do I install it. I've been scouring the web now for two and a half hours, but I don't even know *what* to look for, or where to look. I have RH9, and run in console mode (Machine not beefy enough for a GUI).

I hope someone can help me, and help me in noob terms.

Thanks in advance.

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Dani AI

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Both and are on the right track: the system is simply missing the development toolchain and the kernel headers/source needed to build from source. The fastest first step is to confirm what is and isn’t present. From the console run:

which gcc
gcc --version
uname -r
rpm -qa | egrep 'gcc|make|binutils|glibc|kernel'

If gcc is not found, or the RPM query shows no compiler/devel packages, the next step is to add them from your Red Hat 9 media or from RPMs you fetch.

On an RH9 machine without a GUI you can install RPMs directly from the install CD (mount the CD and look in the RPMS directory) or use your package tool if you have network access. Typical packages you’ll need are gcc, make, binutils, glibc-devel (for userland builds) and a matching kernel development package (kernel-headers / kernel-devel or kernel-source) that corresponds to uname -r. Install using rpm -Uvh for local RPMs, and always pick the kernel-devel package that matches the running kernel version.

If ./configure still complains after installing, check that the compiler is on PATH and that configure can see it. You can force a compiler explicitly:

CC=/usr/bin/gcc ./configure

Also remember many libraries need their “-devel” counterparts (for example libX11-devel) to compile against them; missing devel packages produce later configure failures. If dependency hell arises or matching kernel headers is difficult, a targeted reinstall using the RH9 installer to add the “Development Tools” and the kernel development packages is the least error-prone choice.

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Member Avatar for kc0arf

Hello,

Aparently, you did not include any development libraries from your software installation. For example, on RedHat, you have the option to install development libraries and can choose the various languages.

I think that the easiest way to do this is re-install your box with the distrobution that you have (RedHat, Slackware, Mandrake), and choose in the options to install all of the development tools.

You could try getting the .rpms or tar files for all these things, but I think the amount of dependancies and syncing it all together would be a troubling task.

Others may have other opinions. I think if it was me and RedHat, I would be re-installing.

Christian

Member Avatar for DMR

On top of probably not having installed the compiler, you probably also don't have the kernel-source/kernel header files installed either, and you will need those to compile form source. Neither the compilers nor the kernel souce/header packages are installed by default (don't ask- we know they should be, but the developers don't seem to), so you would need to do as Christian suggests and install the development packages (as well as the kernel-source RPM).

Considering that you won't have any GUI tools to help you out, and the fact that using RPM from the command line is about as much fun as stuffing porcupines into various body cavities, I'd go with running the installer again and choosing the appropriate packages from there. If you use the custom install mode you should be able to do an upgrade from there (that is, only add the packages you want) instead of having to do a full reinstall.

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