Grass&Solaris:Solution????

[Grass package]

Darell McCauley writes:
> 
> as a general trend (especially with linux users, and now
> with solaris users), I see people more and more wanting binary versions.
> What's wrong with getting the source code and compiling it?
> Do people generally find the process too cumbersome or daunting?
> I'm genuinely curious. 
I'll try and answer these questions for my personal situation, and 
perhaps others will be able to add to this. I am indeed daunted by
the prospect of having to compile grass myself (rightly or wrongly), 
for the following reasons:
- compilation has traditionally been the turf of the technician/system
manager. As a simple user, I do not have the experience nor the super-
visor authority to feel that I am up to the task.
- though the installation manual may be quite clear, in my experience 
something always goes wrong. While a systems manager may then know 
what to do and where to look, I wouldn't.
- the default compilation gets you only the main and alpha stuff. If I
want to use all the fine contributed software (for instance your own 
s.univar stuff) I have to compile this separately. So it's not like
the compilation will take me one day and then I can get on with my
real job - I have to keep on the lookout for missing parts, get the
source, and compile it.

Re your other questions:
> 
> - The compilation process has gotten much easier over the past
>   4 or 5 years - most things (everything?) in the src/ dir
>   compiles without a hitch/warning. Is the process too difficult? 
>   Are there too many steps involved?
I don't think it is difficult per se. It's just the prospect of 
difficulties to come when the compilation process DOES go wrong...
>   
> - With increased speeds of workstations,
>   compilation time has decreased by at least 50% (probably more,
>   but then grass has increased in size). Is time a problem?
No.
>   
> - With the availability of gcc, compiler availability is
>   *not* a problem. 
This is an example of what daunts someone like me: to find that `you
do not have the right compiler' or even no compiler at all. Even 
supposing that I knew exactly what it is that a compiler does, I
would be forced to somehow `get' gcc and install it before I could
even start compiling grass... I simply have no idea what I'm getting
into.
>   
> - There's a step-by-step document on "how-to" for those 
>   unfamiliar with the process. Is the documentation difficult 
>   to understand?
No.
> 
> Are there suggestions for making the process easier?
Well, I'm probably going to compile grass for Solaris 2.3 in a few days,
so I'll keep a log of any problems and suggestions.
> 
> --Darrell
> 
Martijn van Leusen
P.M.van-Leusen at bham.ac.uk