Question about installing RPMs

[LukeM]

I have Mandrake 7.2 and the default complier is gcc-2.95.2. I like this complier and want to keep it but I also want to tryout the new gcc-2.96.x complier in Mandrake's Cooker site so I downloaded the .src rpm and build the new gcc for my computer. My question is this, how do I install the new gcc-2.96.x rpms and still keep gcc-2.95.2 around? I guess I'll have to put gcc-2.96.x into another directory when I install it, but I'm not sure how to do that? Also, how will I get my programs to link up with the correct libraries(ie libstdc++, etc...)?

Luke

[Iceman]

Hi Luke:

Unless you're a code warrior and a real masochist, I feel it's best to do separate partions or boxen for all of this. Anything can be done, but it simplifies life if one has separate boxen. I have one for all the daily stuff, another for test/dev. YMMV, but this has worked for me over the last ten years.

Have Fun!

[LukeM]

What does "boxen" mean? I have never came across that term before. I do have seperate prartions like / and /home, etc... but that is all. I think I remember hearing somewhere about how you could do rpm --prefix=/opt/test or something like that but I can't remember exactly how to do it. Can anyone help me with this? Also, I need to make my programs chose the right libraries to link against.

Luke

[Unruly]

Boxen - seperate machines, computers, cpus, boxes

basically, what he's saying is that you should try to use a different machine, or another lesser important drive to test out stuff like that, epsecially if you're not too sure on what exactly you're getting into (which, I'm assuming, is why you're here).

I tend to concur, messing with GCC is like messing with mojo that was not ment to be messed with, especially by a newbie (aka, me, or most of the people on this board).

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Nathan
Q: How many existentialists does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: Two. One to screw it in and one to observe how the lightbulb itself symbolizes a single incandescent beacon of subjective reality in a netherworld of endless absurdity reaching out toward a maudlin cosmos of nothingness.

[LukeM]

While I would love to have two different Linux boxes, one setup with normal software and one setup with development software, I currently don't have that much money http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/smile.gif So that is why I was wondering, can I just install the new development RPMs in a different directory and set enviroment varibles to point to them, etc..?

Luke

[posterboy]

Here's a thought, that gets me around all that. For, like, $10 we can buy these front panel slide in drive trays. They do not hot swap, but modern mobo's have an auto detect feature. Using this, you shut down, plug in another drive, and voila!. I think these are sold as "mobile racks" in shops. I have 2 of them mounted, allowing great flexibilty between OS's and backup drives.
Ray


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ray@raymondjones.net
HTTP://www.raymondjones.net

[atl2ptown]

How much room is left on your linux partition currently? If there is enough you can do a seperate partition, and install drake 7.2 on it. Then upgrade gcc

[Shad]

One of the things I have often considered getting for things like this is a Castlewood Orb drive (http://www.castlewood.com). Get a couple of disks and you would be all set to try several different configs. You could even reuse some partions on your main drive like swap, /home, /usr/local, or /opt.

However I have heard that castlewood had a quality control problem. So I'm not sure how great an idea it would be to get one of these.

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Just a Tuna in the Sea of Life