Building Sigil from source on Linux

[xingenter]

Hi there,

This is my first post on this forum. I'm looking for some advice, please.

I have created a remastered version of Linux Mint 13 (Maya) that's full of tools for writers and publishers of all kinds. To date I have Scrivener, Calibre, Trelby, Celtx, LibreOffice, Kabikaboo, Xmind, SciTE, Amaya, Kompozer, Acrobat Reader, Focuswriter, WriteType and a few others. I am most of the way there with it but I've since discovered Sigil and I'd like to include the latest version. Since my only option is to build from source I started to follow the instructions on the wiki page.
However, when it got to this step:
wget http://download.qt-project.org/offic...64-offline.run ....I killed it because the download was 395M. I don't want my live DVD to grow by that much. My question is: is this download needed after the build is complete or can I get rid of it to save space? If I can, how do I do it?



Mark B

[st_albert]

You have to install the Qt-5.0.2 libraries, but don't need the source code. And after the install you can delete the downloaded .run file, of course.

On my Debian Sid box, the Qt5.0.2 directory is about 621 Mb, but you might be able to do without the tools, saving 180 Mb of that.

HTH,
Albert

[DiapDealer]

If you know absolutely that you only need/want Qt 5 for Sigil and nothing else; you can whittle Sigil's entire footprint down to 115-120Mb (maybe less but I'm cautious). Judicious use of ldd/lddtree and the LD_LIBRARY_PATH/QT_DEBUG_PLUGINS environment variables can help you identify what Qt components Sigil needs to function.

I'm tempted to say you may have problems if you wanted to redistribute such a thing, but in fact, a LiveCD/DVD would make it a lot easier to do just that. Older incompatible hardware would probably be the only thing that might break it.

The problem that you're running into is that Qt is intended to be truly shared on a Linux system--by all apps that are based on it. Install it once on a system and then the apps can be easily redistributed in small, easily managed packages.

[whenster]

Another option would be to install Sigil 0.6.2. Qt5 is not required for 0.6.2.

[xingenter]

Thanks guys, you have been really helpful.

whenster - I guess installing 0.6.2 is easiest. I don't know what new features or bug fixes I'd be missing by doing that but its worth considering.

DiapDealer - I'm not that technically knowledgable about Linux to know what some of what you said means, I'm afraid. Could you expand what you meant when you said this, please? "I'm tempted to say you may have problems if you wanted to redistribute such a thing..."

Albert - Yes, it does help and might be the best compromise. I've only just discovered Sigil but I've read about it in at least two books on e-publishing and they rave about it. On that basis it seems a pity to leave out such a good tool, doesn't it?



Mark B

[exaltedwombat]

Originally Posted by evilmrb

I've only just discovered Sigil but I've read about it in at least two books on e-publishing and they rave about it. On that basis it seems a pity to leave out such a good tool, doesn't it?

Also a pity not to include the latest version!

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by evilmrb

Could you expand what you meant when you said this, please? "I'm tempted to say you may have problems if you wanted to redistribute such a thing..."

Sorry for the confusion. I only meant that I was tempted to say it, but I would be wrong in this case.


Normally, custom compiling can make it difficult to redistribute an app on Linux (especially when shared libraries are involved), because of different flavors of Linux, different kernels, different versions of shared libraries and such. But in creating a Live DVD, you're controlling all those aspects yourself. So in essence... it makes things somewhat easier. The only thing you have to worry about is whether a user's hardware is up to the task of running all the programs on your live DVD. That shouldn't be a problem with Sigil unless someone has an older processor that doesn't support SSE2 (which should be getting more and more rare).

You could try installing one of my unofficial debian packages of Sigil 0.7.2 (links found in a thread a few posts down). Or at least extract the files from one to get an idea of what you need to minimally include to get Sigil 0.7.2 running on debian-based Linux (I created them on Mint 12 [Ubuntu 11.10]).

[theducks]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

That shouldn't be a problem with Sigil unless someone has an older processor that doesn't support SSE2 (which should be getting more and more rare).

Nah!
They are moving into the realm of 'Classic's'

You want to see 'Classic's'? Go Visit the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. They have a CRAY.

[xingenter]

Hello again,

I installed the deb package from the link you gave. It worked without error. I couldn't find a menu item for Sigil so I thought I would test it by creating a launcher on the desktop. I pointed it at /usr/local/share/sigil/sigil and clicked on it. Nothing happened. What did I miss?

As an aside my masterplan was dealt a massive blow yesterday when I read that the creator/maintainer of Remastersys has shut up shop after getting sick of hassle from users. Such a pity as there is nothing else like it.

Thanks again for your help. Much appreciated.

Mark B

[DiapDealer]

Create the shortcut to /usr/local/bin/sigil, but there really should already be an entry for Sigil in the "Office" section of your menu. You can also create shortcuts to Sigil's .desktop file in /usr/local/share/applications.

[xingenter]

DiapDealer,

Oops, you're right. I can't see for looking, I guess. Must be my age.
Thank you so much for your help and advice. Thanks to you and your deb package I now have Sigil working properly.

Next step, world domination.



Mark