./configure command

[Paul Howarth]

Mike McCarty wrote:
> Ralf Corsepius wrote:
>> If you want a package to a package for an OS, you have to take the OS's
>> native package administration tools into account. The safest way is to
>> utilize the system's native packaging - In case of Fedora this is rpm.
> 
> That is generally true, though not universlly. One can get into trouble
> if a ./configure + make install is done badly. The same thing is true
> for a badly made RPM. It can clobber anything on the machine just
> like ./configure. I have personally experienced that. When I have used
> ./configure for install packages, I always put in there a prefix which
> installs either in my own home directory, or into /usr/local. And I
> haven't gotten into any trouble, because I know where I put things.
> With RPM, one *doesn't* have control over where things go. One has
> slightly more control over being able to uninstall. But if a bad RPM
> overwrites a file, it is gone. Before I use either

However, rpm will not everwrite any file that is already owned by an 
existing package on the system (unless it's an older version of the same 
package, or the rpm is installed using the "I don't care if I break my 
system" --force option).

Of course, an rpm could be done maliciously and have a post-install 
script that caused all sorts of damage, but regular files contained 
within an rpm package will not clobber existing rpm-based data on the 
system. And that's why I try to use rpm for everything on my systems 
that's not in "user" areas like home directories or other directories 
specially set aside for some purpose.

SPaul.