[Axiom-developer] Installing AXIOM on Mandrake

[Bertfried Fauser]

Hello,

        I have installed AXIOM on a mandrake linux for my friend Rafal.
This was a challenge and he would not have succeded to do so.

Mandrake does not install by defult very much packages which are _needed_
to compile AXIOM, this starts with the gcc compiler(!), latex, X11
developer files, binutils, m4 preprocessor, etc.
        It took quite a while for a non expert as I am to notice in which
package libbdf.a etc are located. Hence my question:
        Would it be possible to put on the AXIOM homepage a list with
_all_ packages which are needed for compilation of AXIOM are listed.
(When AXIOM goes into an RPM (apt) archive this might be needed anyway)

        Furthermore, since we tried to install from a Win machine (linux
box had no internet connection) it was quite hard to check out the files
from the cvs. (I did it using my linux book in Germany and ftp the file to
the Win box). Would it be difficult to produce daily an
AXIOM-...-version.tgz file in the download area of teh savannah server.
Perhaps on a weekly basis even a compiled binary file for a standard linux
box? This would help cvs dummies -as I am at least under Windows- to cope
with the download.

        Sorry to report this, but my effort to advertise AXIOM was kicked
off by showing how difficult the installation was (for me, on a linux I
don´t know well). The current state is not an ivitation to AXIOM for users
with few linux knowledge, and we would like to advertise AXIOM isnt it?

ciao
BF.

% PD Dr Bertfried Fauser
%     Institution: Max Planck Institut for Math, Leipzig <http://www.mis.mpg.de>
%   Privat Docent: University of Konstanz, Phys Dept 
<http://www.uni-konstanz.de>
%  contact|->URL : http://clifford.physik.uni-konstanz.de/~fauser/
%          Phone : Leipzig +49 341 9959 735  Konstanz +49 7531 693491