How To Compile Everything


 * Is there a README?
 * Read it.

Dynamic languages

 * Is it mostly PHP?
 * Does it need PHP libraries?
 * It probably needs a web server
 * Does it need a database?
 * Is it mostly Python?
 * Is there a ?
 * , I think.
 * Is there a ?
 * Install the things there, maybe with pip or something??
 * Does it need a web server? (Does it need a web server, or does a builtin one suffice?)
 * Does it need a database? (Does it need a database, or does SQLite suffice?)
 * Is it mostly Ruby?
 * Ask someone not me.
 * Someone not me says:
 * Does it have a Gemfile, or a .gemspec? Run bundle.
 * Is it Rails? Run rake.  (Did you bundle install?)  Now do ./script/server (Rails 2.x) or rails server (Rails >=3).  Consider making someone else host it - Heroku?
 * Is it not Rails? Does it have a Rakefile?  Run rake.
 * No Rakefile? Are you sure this is ruby?
 * Is it mostly Perl?
 * Is there a  at the top level, and no  ?
 * Run, then follow the   instructions.
 * If you want to set a prefix, run . You don't need to pass the prefix to any other commands.

C

 * Is there a  or  ?
 * Usually you can just run  to compile it.
 * Often you can also run  to install it systemwide. Sometimes this won't exist, and all you get is compiled code in the same directory.
 * If you want to install it, but not systemwide, generally you can use a prefix variable to make it install elsewhere; for instance I might want to set the prefix to  so things are in , etc. If there was just a   and nothing special, try running   and  , without sudo. Or read the   or README.
 * Is there a ?
 * Usually you can just run, followed by   and  , as per the   decision branch.
 * To set a prefix, run.
 * Running configure will error out if it requires something you don't have installed. But check its output, as it might be skipping something optional but useful, that you should have installed.
 * Is there a, but no   (with no extension)? Sometimes   is called   or something.
 * Make sure you have autoconf and automake installed.
 * Run, then start from the   decision branch.
 * Rarely,  will also run   for you; if you want to pass options, you can either rerun   yourself, or pass them to.
 * Is there a  or , but no  ? (If there is one, prefer that)
 * Make sure you have autoconf and automake installed.
 * Run, then start from the   decision branch.

Java

 * Is there a ?
 * Are there files with Android-y names?
 * Install the Android utilities, then run  so that your paths to the Android SDK are set. You'll probably need to specify the full path to the   command, like.
 * If it tells you to use, to make a debug build. (See the output of   to see the list of options.)
 * You can try using  to run it on the currently-running simulator, or the currently-plugged in device. You might have more luck with the   command directly, though.
 * Run, which should either work or give you a list of options.   might be the option that you want.
 * Is there a ?
 * Curse at Maven a bit, then run  and hope for the best
 * Consider using Eclipse
 * Sometimes Java programs are servlets, which you can tell by, like,  directories or   files running around
 * You'll want a "servlet container" like Tomcat or Jetty, which is a fancy word for a web server that runs Java servlets
 * Jetty can run standalone, with no advance setup, and there's often a Maven target for that

Other things

 * Is there a  directory? Are you building something Debian-specific?
 * Make sure everything in the  line of   is installed. If the package is in the Debian/Ubuntu archive, the easiest way to do this is  . This works even if you're building a package from a slightly different source than the one in the archive; it'll get you at least 90% of the way there.
 * Run, which is in the   package.