Help! Wanna install KDE but how?

Hype.it · #1 August 26th, 2004, 12:45 PM

When it comes to X11 and other commands i'm a complete novice, so be gentle.

Currently Apple's X11 have already been installed, dunno know why? Do i need this? Can I remove it? and how?

I played around with KDE in the pass on a linux box, i heard it's possible to install on a Mac but haven't any clue as to how or what i need. Outta curiosity I recently visited kde.org and under their guidelines i should install Xfree86. So i downloaded XFree86 version "Darwin-ppc-7.x" on running "sh Xinstall.sh" i get questions about making backup and stuff...

Quote:

Welcome to the XFree86 4.4.0 installer

You are strongly advised to backup your existing XFree86 installation
before proceeding. This includes the /usr/X11R6, /etc/X11
and /etc/fonts directories. The installation process will
overwrite existing files in those directories, and this may include
some configuration files that may have been customised.

If you are installing a version different from 4.4.0, you
may need an updated version of this installer script.

Do you wish to continue? (y/n) [n]

So now i play safe and said No.

Quote:

Aborting the installation.

Now, this is completely beyond me. Like i said, Unix is new to me. Anyone like to shed some light and offer a step by step help or guide?

Thanks in advance.

Viro · #2 August 26th, 2004, 01:23 PM

The easiest way to get KDE running on OS X is to use fink. Head on over to http://fink.sourceforge.net and download it. Fink is basically a package manager for OS X and it allows you to easily install UNIX software like KDE, taking care of all the dependencies for you.

Once you have fink installed, the easiest and quickest way to get KDE up and running is to type in the following commands

Code:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install kde

Sit back and let fink do the rest.

Hype.it · #3 August 26th, 2004, 01:39 PM

Yeah thanks... I have fink but i like to try with Xfree86.

Anyone else wanna help?

**chevy** · #4 August 26th, 2004, 04:15 PM

FinkCommander can install Xfree86 for you if I remember correctly, but I am not sure this is the best way to go.

Installing KDE on mac also means that you have the latest quicktime libraries, and the developer's tool box installed.

A complete explaination was in MacWorld of June or July.

Viro · #5 August 26th, 2004, 05:35 PM

Fink will install XFree86 for you if you don't have the Apple X11 SDK installed. Plus, I seriously think that Apple's implementation of X11 is much better than XFree86 since Apple has hardware acceleration in their server.

Any reason why you want to avoid fink?

Hype.it · #6 August 26th, 2004, 05:42 PM

Sorry if i'm sounding a little rude about this... I really am.

So far, I have posted this same question in various Mac & Darwin related forums and all i get is someone saying "head over to blah blad and download FINK."

There are reasons that there are so many versions of linux and unix out there, it's because everyone wants to do things in a different way, like me. Hopefully manually without Fink. It's sometimes nice to touch a little bit of code, get your hands dirty as they say and get away from all things point and click, isn't it? Well i think it is. I have Mac OSX for all the pointy things, now i wish to dabble in other extremes...

Hype.it · #7 August 26th, 2004, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chevy

FinkCommander can install Xfree86 for you if I remember correctly, but I am not sure this is the best way to go.

Installing KDE on mac also means that you have the latest quicktime libraries, and the developer's tool box installed.

A complete explaination was in MacWorld of June or July.

I'm in Hong Kong, i'm not spending $100 bucks on a imported magazine.

Viro · #8 August 26th, 2004, 06:51 PM

Well, that's probably because its a very complex step to get KDE compiled on OS X. You need to have all the required libraries, something that OS X doesn't ship with. There is a reason Fink and Darwinports exist. They are there to simplify things for people who want to get things done, with the minimum amount of hassle.

But if you're keen on getting KDE compiled on your own, well, just download the source tarballs (tar.gz files) and have a go at compiling them. In order to get past the configure stage you'll need to download various libraries that aren't installed in OS X by default.

In order to install XFree86 (no idea why you'd want this instead of Apple's X11 server), just do what the documentation says. Say 'Y' and have it install.

Good luck in the rest.