Changes between Version 6 and Version 7 of CompilationGuide/Generic

Timestamp:

Dec 29, 2013, 12:36:27 PM (13 years ago)

Author:

Stefano Sabatini

Comment:

add short section "Why to compile from source"

CompilationGuide/Generic

@@ -2 +2 @@
 
 Note that in this guide there is nothing strictly specific to FFmpeg.
+
+== Why to compile from source ==
+
+Binary packages are usually provided by third party packagers for many platforms, but in some cases they are not an option for several reasons:
+* the binary packages is outdated or contains critical bugs or is missing required features which are available in the later version of the software
+* you need to customize the build, for example to support a particular installation layout, to get platform-specific optimizations or to link against particular libraries which are not supported in the binary package
+* you want to customize the software by editing the source code
+
+In all these cases building a package from source looks like the best solution.
 
 == Overview ==
@@ -25 +34 @@
 
 This will compile the project files in the source directory, and will install the libraries in {{{/usr/local}}}. The third step may require super-user rights (so it may need to be replaced by {{{sudo make install}}}), since {{{/usr/local}}} cannot be modified by regular users.
-
 
 == Install path ==