Getting Started: Difference between revisions

    From KDE TechBase
    (→‎Location: Switched to user organized, there are dead links, haven't figured out best names yet)
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    ; [[Distribution Manager]]
    ; [[Distribution Manager]]
    ; To test KDM, you may want to install [[as root]] and or use a [[virtual machine]] so you do not damage a production system.
    : To test KDM, you may want to install [[as root]] and or use a [[virtual machine]] so you do not damage a production system.


    === Method ===
    === Method ===

    Revision as of 03:00, 6 August 2010


    Getting_Started


    Determine Your Needs

    KDE versions are split into branches off of the Trunk. The steps to build most branches are very similar. However, Each branch has different prerequisites.

    Choose Version

    For production use, we recommend using a stable "branch" version of KDE. If you just want to use KDE, take a look at http://userbase.kde.org/. If you are developing applications, your distribution's dev packages and the kde-sdk may work. If your distribution does not have KDE you'll need to build it yourself.

    If you want to hack at KDE's core modules, you'll need to build it, and TRUNK is the main branch where new features (and prerequisites) are added, however it can be difficult to keep up with.

    Other versions and FAQ Including information for building on non-linux systems Incl KDE3

    To See which versions/branches of KDE are available go to:

    http://websvn.kde.org/branches/KDE/

    Location

    There may be advantages to putting your KDE in different locations.( Note that if using system Qt for a user based KDE install, the QCA plugin may have to be installed as root))

    Casual Curiosity
    development user home if you do not want to mess up your production KDE
    your home directory if you are willing to use environment variables to keep versions seporate( using scripts) or have no other access to the machine
    As root Not advised unless you have a dedicated machine


    Application Developer
    development user home same as for curious user
    as root will be more useful to simulate environment of customers
    your home directory may simplify your development
    Distribution Manager
    To test KDM, you may want to install as root and or use a virtual machine so you do not damage a production system.

    Method

    Regardless of method chosen, reading up on the manual steps below will be very helpful. CMake may also be of interest.

    Fully Manual
    Distribution Specific
    Augmented (Recommended)
    Manual, but with a few scripts to keep everything easy
    KDEsrc-build
    Useful for automated builds, may be tough to set up

    Gather Prerequisites

    Your build will fail if you are missing one of them, and the list changes. There are some options, however the make system can often find optional packages even if you do not intend to use them, so you may need to pass disable options.

    Build it

    Most used method, augmented with bash functions.

    Getting_Started/Increased_Productivity_in_KDE4_with_Scripts

    Manual Steps
    distribution specific

    There may be pre-made builds for your distribution, For example, in Kubuntu, Project Neon, aims to provide a recent trunk build environment, and PPA's provide latest branch versions.

    kdesrc-build

    This script will do most of the downloading and compiling for you. It can be configured to build most versions, by default it builds Trunk. There full-process instructions at http://kdesrc-build.kde.org and more here kdesrc-build, and here is a list of working configuration files.

    • This will compile qt for you, or you can configure it to use system QT
    • When you choose a branch
      • edit your .kdesrc-buildrc
        • set your branch
        • you will have to tweak the kdeSupport module description, and maybe the qt-copy. For the kdesupport module: module-base-path tags/kdesupport-for-4.5

    Getting the Source

    Troubleshooting the build

    Troubleshooting information is similar between branches as well.

    Compile and Linking errors are frequent sources of discouragement. make careful note of the first occurrence of an error in your build process. It could be as simple as a bad environment variable, an unexpected version of a library or missing prerequisite.

    Please review your logs and do searches for fixes. If you cannot find a solution, Build/KDE4/Errors and IRC channel, and mailing lists. Build/Stories

    Using your KDE

    After KDE has been built, you'll want a good way to launch apps and perform your regular development tasks:

    Environment Variables

    Your system won't know to use your new KDE until you tell it how to find the KDE applications and libraries.

    Set up Development Tools

    You may need to set up or use, you will likely want to use a stable package from your distribution.

    it is unclear if the kde-devel user or your normal user will be running the development tools. Please Help

    For most development topics, and documentation, see Development

    Opening and creating KDE project files


    This is a stub, please help.

    Contribution

    You may not need the latest bleeding-edge KDE to develop with, Much code will be similiar between versions and your patch might work, however Trunk is where major changes are introduced, and branches are mostly maintenance/bug fix.