Forums | MacLife

Ideally you could get the source and compile it to run on your Mac. Things don't always work out perfectly like that though. Some times there can be changes that need to be made. Compiling something from source isn't a task for someone new to *nix.

EDIT:

Let me make this a little less complicated. Programs are still processor dependent and you can't use a program for say Intel and run in on a G4. If you had the source it may compile, but could very well need some modification as well.

No, wait, not at all!  As you said, every once in a while a program comes along that has some weird problems.  For most programs, however, compiling by source is a piece of cake if you do it by rote.

1)  Extract the directory from the file you download (most are done by "tar -xzvf filename.tgz")
2)  cd to that directory
3)  type "./configure", wait for stuff to stop spewing out and your prompt to come back
4)  type "make", wait again
5)  type "su", and then your root password when it asks for it
6)  type "make install"

These instructions are also usually in a file called "INSTALL" that's included with most programs that are distributed as source.  It's a good idea to look at that file before you install something, just in case there's some special directions.

Again, it won't work for everything, but it works for most.  Sometimes it'll complain about a dependancy, in which case you just need to go to google, find that program/library, and do that ./configure, make, su, make install for it before you do it for your main program.