Getting Started: Difference between revisions

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== Building and Running KDE Software From Source ==
== Building and Running KDE Software From Source ==
There are several possible ways to build and install KDE software and the method you choose depends on what you want to do with the software once it is built.


You may want to:
There are several possible ways to build and install KDE software and the method you choose depends on what you want to do with the software once it is built.  The following sections explain the steps you need to understand and give the instructions you need to follow to successfully build KDE Software from source:
* Develop a standalone application using the KDE Platform
* Develop one of the KDE Applications
* Develop the KDE Workspace or the KDE Platform
* Test the latest KDE Software or an earlier stable version


In particular, for application development you may only need to build some parts of the KDE SC while relying on the KDE Development Platform stable packages from your distribution.
The table below provides some guidance in making this decision, but before you start building please read the rest of the pages for more detailed information on Getting Started.
<table border="1" width="100%" cellpadding="5">
  <tr>
    <td width="75%">'''Usage'''</td>
    <td width="25%">'''Method'''</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td width="75%">Developing an application outside of the KDE development infrastructure using the stable KDE Development Platform.</td>
    <td width="25%" style="background: #FFEFD3">'''Packaged Stable Release'''</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td width="75%" rowspan=2>Developing an application outside of the KDE development infrastructure using features from the unstable KDE Development Platform.</td>
    <td width="25%" style="background: #FFFEE4">'''Snapshot Build'''</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td width="25%" style="background: #9FD6D2">'''Unstable Source Build'''</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td width="75%">Developing an application in the KDE SC using the stable KDE Development Platform.</td>
    <td width="25%" style="background: #D0ECEA">'''Stable Source Build'''</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td width="75%">Developing an application in the KDE SC using features in the unstable KDE Development Platform.</td>
    <td width="25%" style="background: #9FD6D2">'''Unstable Source Build'''</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td width="75%">Developing the unstable KDE Development Platform.</td>
    <td width="25%" style="background: #9FD6D2">'''Unstable Source Build'''</td>
  </tr>
</table>
<table border="1" width="100%" cellpadding="5">
  <tr>
    <td width="25%">'''Method'''</td>
    <td width="75%">'''Description'''</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td width="25%" style="background: #FFEFD3">'''Stable Release Packages'''</td>
    <td width="75%">Install a stable release of the KDE Development Platform from packages using your distributions standard software installer.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td width="25%" style="background: #FFEFD3">'''Unstable Packages'''</td>
    <td width="75%">Install an unstable version of the KDE Development Platform using your distributions standard software installer.  Some distributions provide unstable packages for Nightly Snapshots, Weekly Snapshots, or unstable development releases.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td width="25%" style="background: #FFFEE4">'''Snapshot Build'''</td>
    <td width="75%">Build a snapshot of the source code as at a given time or release from a tarball download.  These may be stable or unstable releases or nightly snapshots</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td width="25%" style="background: #D0ECEA">'''Stable Source Build'''</td>
    <td width="75%">Build a version of the source code for an official release directly from the source repository.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td width="25%" style="background: #9FD6D2">'''Unstable Source Build'''</td>
    <td width="75%">Build the current unstable development code directly from the source repository.</td>
  </tr>
</table>
=== Build Steps ===
There are a series of steps you need to understand and follow to successfully build KDE Software from source.  The following sections will take you through the process:
* [[/Sources|Obtain the Source Code for the software]]
* [[/Sources|Obtain the Source Code for the software]]
* [[/Build|Build and Install the software]]
* [[/Build|Build and Install the software]]

Revision as of 19:42, 7 March 2011

Warning
These pages are currently being completely re-written to reflect the new KDE infrastructure and may not be in a consistent state. Information and commands on some page may no longer be valid and should be used with care.



Getting_Started


Introduction

There are many different ways to become involved in the KDE Community, ranging all the way from a simply using our software through to being a core platform developer.

You can find more general information on getting involved in KDE at the following links:

This section of KDE TechBase is designed to help get you started in participating in the technical side of the KDE community. It will explain to you how KDE Software is structured and built, and how you can participate by building KDE for yourself.

Note
Quickstart: If you're impatient to get started without understanding the background then we recommend you use one of the available Build Scripts.


Using KDE Software

If you just want to use stable KDE software for your everyday computing needs, then you do not need to build KDE Software for yourself. You should instead use the software installer provided by your Linux distribution to install KDE package.

The best place to learn how to do this is through your distributions normal support channels, although you may find some useful information on the following pages:

Getting Help

If you are looking for help in using the KDE Workspace or KDE Applications then please visit the KDE UserBase.

If you have any questions or problems with building or developing KDE Software please feel free to ask for help. However, be patient while waiting for a response, and try to work through the problem yourself, we aren't going to do it all for you. Working your way through and understanding why something doesn't work is a good way to learn how to do things the right way.

Building and Running KDE Software From Source

There are several possible ways to build and install KDE software and the method you choose depends on what you want to do with the software once it is built. The following sections explain the steps you need to understand and give the instructions you need to follow to successfully build KDE Software from source:

Development Model

TODO: General introduction to the dev model, release cycles, etc.

Development Tools

There are a number of Development Tools that are either required or helpful when building KDE Software. For these you will usually want to use the stable packages provided by your distribution.

You may want to use a graphical IDE for your development work:

Contributing To KDE

Once you have a copy of KDE built you can then start contributing back to KDE. The pages below will help you find out how you can help make KDE even better.

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