[ardour-users] NooB with glib-config and glib version errors

[Anthony DiSante]

Keith wrote:
> For weeks now, I've been trying to get ardour to build, going through 
> http://myweb.cableone.net/eviltwin69/ALSA_JACK_ARDOUR.html
> I installed glib-2.4.1, and the latest alsa and pango.  
> I've read and googled till my head hurts, but I can't get past this glib-config error.
> I read that glib-config is superceded by pkg-config which I do have installed.
> But it still errors glib-config and telling me my glib is not >=1.0.0, yet my TWO
> installations are 2.2.3 and 2.4.1 !!!!

I used Slackware for a couple years (and Mandrake and RedHat before that), 
and never saw the end of problems with glib/gtk.  Every time I had to 
install/upgrade them, across multiple different installs of multiple 
distros, there were problems that took days/weeks to solve, if they got 
solved at all.

I recently switched to Gentoo Linux, and it's like heaven, because it has an 
amazing package management system called Portage that resolves dependencies 
automatically.  You just say "emerge ardour" and it downloads and installs 
the package, along with any dependencies it has that you're missing.

A friend of mine runs the CCRMA version of Fedora (RedHat), which uses 
Debian's APT package management system, which does the same thing, and he's 
been really happy with that for audio.

Installing anything is easier with Gentoo, but in particular, glib/gtk 
problems were one of the main reasons I switched.  I know that "change your 
distro" isn't a small suggestion, but I think it's well worth the trouble 
once it's done.  I'll never have to deal with the nightmare of manual 
glib/gtk configuration again.  And of course, you can still install things 
manually if you want to on Gentoo; it's just that you have a better option 
if you want it.

Linux has come a long way in the past couple years, but manually 
building/installing packages and resolving dependency issues has been 
something of a sore thumb, which the average Windows user would never be 
willing/able to deal with, and the average Linux user has had to struggle 
with.  Intelligent package management systems, like Portage and APT, bring 
this aspect of Linux into the 21st century.  I'm not knocking anyone who 
likes to manually build their stuff, but the fact is there are lots of 
people who would like to NOT manually build their stuff.  With Gentoo/Fedora 
(among others) you have both options.

-Anthony
http://nodivisions.com/