Linux programs are sometimes distributed in "binary" format (though this is not recommended). A "binary" is a compressed file containing a program ready to run on any system. However, "binaries" may fail to run if your system's configuration is too different from the compiler's.
You can recognise the "binaries" because they are named like `bygfoot-X.Y.Z-bin.tar.bz2` (where X.Y.Z stand for the version numbers.
Some binaries need to be installed (and are usually provided with an "install" program you are supposed to run as root before using. Bygfoot binaries, however, are ran without system-wide installation. Local installation has some downsides, but it sure won't tamper with your system.
To run Bygfoot binaries you only need to unpack (i.e. "uncompress) the binary tarball using this command: `tar xjf bygfoot-X.X.X-bin.tar.bz2`
Once you have unpacked Bygfoot, enter the directory just created and run the executable file in there.
"Packages" are special files used by Linus distros to distribute the programs they supply (or are supplied by third-part "packagers"). The three most-popular package formats for Linux are the RedHat Package Manager format (RPM), the Debian packages (DEB) and the Slackware Packages (TGZ, a.k.a. "Slackpacks").
Installing from packages is a much better option if your system uses the same configuration as the packager. It will allow you to update Bygfoot easily when the next version comes and will prevent left-over files to remain lurking in your system if you ever choose to uninstall it.
= RPM packages: To install RPM packages (*.rpm) just type `rpm -Uvh bygfoot-X.Y.Z.arch.rpm` at the command-line. Where "arch" is the architecture of the system (i386 means Intel-standard motherboards 386 and up). To uninstall you only need to type `rpm -e bygfoot` (notice that to uninstall you only type the package name). There are also some graphical front-ends for the rpm tool, like Kpackage, xrpm (seems to be dead), gnorpm and Synaptic.
= DEB packages: To install DEB packages (*.deb) just type `dpkg --add bygfoot-X.X.X.arch.deb` at the command-line. Bygfoot is now part of the "unstable" branch of the Debian system, which means that now you can install it using `apt-get install` like any good and respectable official Debian package... You can always use graphical front-ends too, like Gnome-dpkg or Synaptic.
= Slackware Packages: It seems (no one of us uses Slackware) that packages are installed by the `pkgtool` command. You should refer to its manpage to learn more. There are front-ends for pkgtool as well, like gnome-pkgtool.
This is the most-recommended method of installation, especially for those users who have mastered Linux to some point and for those who wish to install Bygfoot on other systems.
To compile Bygfoot from source you must have available the following resources:
Up to now, Bygfoot has been successfully compiled in the following systems (in alphabetical order):
We strongly encourage you to port Bygfoot to your OS and send us the news. We will link back to you and add your name to our Thank You page.
Bygfoot must be easy to port to any POSIX-compliant system where the above required resources are available. There is already a port to FreeBSD available here.
In order to compile Bygfoot you must have all the development libraries. In my Conectiva 9 system this means the packages "task-c-devel" and "gtk+2-devel". If you have all that is necessary to compile the tarball, follow these steps to easily compiling it (all commands within a terminal window):
If you didn't understand any of the compilation directives given above, you are not prepared to compile bygfoot and should refer to one of the binary packages (bin, rpm or deb).
The bygfoot-X.Y.Z.src.rpm package is there to allow you to build your own RPM package. If you have all the required software, you can just type `rpm --rebuild bygfoot-X.Y.Z.src.rpm` and wait for the (long) process of building. The compilation won't even start if something is missing and will stop if there's any incompatibility along the way.
Sometimes it may happen that you have a required package, but under a different name. E.g.: in Mandrake systems you have "gtk2" and "libgtk2-devel", while in Conectiva systems you have "gtk+2" and "gtk+2-devel". If this happens, you can circumvent this by editing the ".spec" file used as template for compilation. By default this file will be found at /usr/src/rpm/SPECS/.
New versions are expected to appear quite often. So, you must be aware of the processes needed to upgrade.
IMPORTANT -- If you are about to upgrade to a version that is not compatible with saved games or text files from previous versions, remove manually (or rename) your local configuration directory ($HOME/.bygfoot) before running the game for the first time. Otherwise the game may freeze or refuse to start.
There is no need to uninstall Bygfoot before upgrading if you can use RPM "packages" because the default installation command (`rpm -Uvh`) automagically checks whether an older version is installed and -- if yes -- switches to updating. If you usually install programs using the `rpm -i` command (not recommended) you will get an error message though. Use `rpm -U` and everything will be OK.
On Debian systems upgrading is easy if you have added Bygfoot's repository to your `sources.list` configuration. Whenever a new version is uploaded you will be able to upgrade with the `apt-get upgrade` command. Otherwise you will have to use `dpkg`.
Slackware users please refer to the manpage of your pkgtool.
If you have compiled Bygfoot from Sources, you must remove it before installing a new version. You can remove it with the `make uninstall` command, but you may also have to remove manually the directories where the default resources were installed (`$PREFIX/share/bygfoot`).
Your Bygfoot installation will only be done after the first time you run it successfully. During the first run, several files will be copied from the shared configuration directory (`$PREFIX/share/bygfoot`) to your local configuration directory (`$HOME/.bygfoot`). Don't interrupt this process. If anything goes wrong, remove the local configuration directory so that Bygfoot "thinks" it is a first run and does the copying again... :-)
As of versions 1.6.1 and 1.7.1 there's an online update script called `bygfoot-update` for the source package, located in the directory with the configure script. In theory, users using the source package shouldn't have to download new versions anymore, they can simply use the update script to keep their version up-to-date.
You need an internet connection and the programs `wget` and `patch` to be able to use the script. If you have these, do the following:
Now the script tries to find out your revision number and package type (stable/unstable) from the file `revision_number` in the package directory. Then it retrieves a list of available revision patches from the Bygfoot homepage and asks you whether to apply those which are new.
I hope this will work well. The idea is great (isn't it?) but I don't have a lot of experience with such things. If you find a bug, contact me.