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Generic Download and Install Instructions
=========================================

.. contents:: Contents
   :local:

**Note, added Feb. 2013: The pacman method will not work anymore**

This documents how to get and install most of my software. Several methods are
covered, depending on the tools you have available. In the rest of this
document, I assume you want to download and install a package named `$pkgname`.

There are basically two methods, depending on whether you use `Arch Linux`_
(more precisely, its package manager, Pacman_) or not.

.. _Arch Linux: http://www.archlinux.org/
.. _Pacman: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Pacman

If you use Pacman
-----------------

Most of my publicly-available software have been packaged for `x86_64` and can
be directly downloaded and installed from my public arch repository.

You first have to add my repository to Pacman. Append::

    [svasey-public]
    Server = http://public-repo.svasey.org/os/x86_64

to `/etc/pacman.conf`.

Then to download and install the latest version of `$pkgname`::

    $ pacman -Sy $pkgname

That should do it ! Pay attention to any message that is printed at installation
time. 

Security
########

At present (version 3.3.3), Pacman does not implement package signing, which
makes this method potentially vulnerable to `Man-in-the-middle attacks`_, and
could also lead to problems if my server is compromised.

However, all my packages are signed with `my GPG key`_, so one workaround for
you would be to manually download the package file and verify the signature, and
then install it with Pacman. To do that, browse
`http://public-repo.svasey.org/os/x86_64/` and download your package and its
`.sig` file. Then call::

    $ gpg --verify $sigfile

Where `$sigfile` is the signature file. If the signature has been verified
correctly, you can then install the package::

    $ pacman -U $pkgfile 

See the `without Pacman method`_ for more on signature verification.

.. _Man-in-the-middle attacks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man-in-the-middle_attack
.. _my GPG key: http://certs.svasey.org/gpg-svasey-pubkey.asc
.. _without Pacman method: #if-you-don-t-use-pacman

If you don't use Pacman
-----------------------

You should be aware that those instructions are not well-tested. Do not hesitate
to `send me feedback`_ if something goes wrong.

.. _send me feedback: http://svasey.org/about_en.html#contact-information

Downloading the source tarball
##############################

Download the source tarball::

    $ wget http://public-repo.svasey.org/src/${pkgname}.tar.gz

Checking the signature
**********************
    
I then advise you to check its `digital signature`_. If you do not care, feel
free to skip that section.

First, import `my GPG key`_, and make sure you trust it. There is a lot of
documentation on how to do this on the web.

Then, download the signature::

    $ wget http://public-repo.svasey.org/src/${pkgname}.tar.gz.sig

And verify it::

    $ gpg --verify ${pkgname}.tar.gz.sig

.. _digital signature: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_signature
.. _my GPG key: http://certs.svasey.org/gpg-svasey-pubkey.asc

Installing from source
######################

Extract the tarball and cd to the resulting directory::

    $ tar -xf ${pkgname}.tar.gz
    $ cd $pkgname

After doing an `ls`, you should see several documentation files, like e.g
`README`, `INSTALL` and `COPYING`. Read the `INSTALL` file, install the
dependencies, and see if it contains something unusual or if it just points to
those instructions. Most of the time it will just point here. If it doesn't,
follow the instructions from `INSTALL` instead of those.

There should also be an `install` file. To install the package, run (as root)::

    $ ./install $DESTDIR $PREFIX

Where `$DESTDIR` and `$PREFIX` can be omitted, especially if you do not know
what they are (good default values will be chosen). `$DESTDIR` is the file
system root where the package should be installed and defaults to `/`. `$PREFIX`
is the prefix where most of the program files will be installed. It defaults to
`/usr/local`.

If there is a file `install.post`, you can have a look at `INSTALL` and read
what it tells you to do with that file, then run::

    $ ./install.post $DESTDIR $PREFIX


Getting the development history
-------------------------------

Most of my projects have a git_ repository. If you are a developer you can also
get the source from there. To clone it, run::

    $ git clone git://git.svasey.org/${pkgname}.git

.. _git: http://git-scm.com/