Ubuntu
software-center package

package installation options with software center

Asked by Rawl Gelinas

I installed the FreeTDS MS-SQL and Sybase database drivers using the software center as opposed to downloading the tar from the FreeTDS site directly and running ./configure, make, and make install.

Subsequently running TSQL -C to check what I "got" shows that the MS-SQL support is not enabled and I need it to be enabled.
This support could be enabled using a configure option with the normal compile approach but I have no idea where the package was downloaded to (if at all) by the software center utility so I don't know where I could run ./configure, make, and make install from in order to change this compile time option.

Does the software center utility download a full package that I can recompile myself and if so where would it put it in my file system?

Or, is there a reasonable way for me to modify the compile time options using the software center?

Otherwise, do I need to start from scratch and download the tar directly from the FreeTDS site and forget using the software manager for this sort of driver?

There are numerous higher level packages out their with crucial compile-time options that need to be made during the configure step and if software center does not provide for some sort of option to support this scenario, it needs to. Not all of your users want plug-n-play or they would stay with Windows...

Running Ubuntu 11.04 in an Oracle VirtualBox on an Asus Core i7 laptop with 16GB RAM.

Please tell me the best way to solve my immediate problem and consider improving the software center for this type of situation.

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mycae (mycae) said : 		#1

>Or, is there a reasonable way for me to modify the compile time options using the software center?

The software centre is a GUI overlay on top of the package management system "apt", which is designed by the debian project. You can obtain copies of the source code that ubuntu built, including the build instructions using apt, and rebuild them with different compile-time configuration options. You need to use the command line to do this.

An example procedure for doing this is here:
http://www.moosechips.com/2008/09/ubuntu-rebuild-a-source-package/

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Rawl Gelinas (rawl747) said : 		#2

Not exactly but close enough.

Prior to getting this answer, following instructions from the FreeTDS site I had already tried to build version 0.91 which is the current stable using the (GNU?) "./configure, make, make install" method. This apparently ended up giving me a mixed install of the Ubuntu version 0.82 from the Ubuntu Software Center and the distribution direct from FreeTDS 0.91 which essentially so badly hosed (technical term there folks) this Ubuntu virtual machine that I had to scrap it and revert to saved snapshot. Thank God (Oracle) for VirtualBox!

Anyway, I was able to resolve my odbc connectivity from a Ubuntu Linux host to a Microsoft SQL Server (v 2008 R2) without reconfiguring the Ubuntu provided package so my immediate problem is resolved.

Trying to obtain and rebuild a package originally installed from the Ubuntu Software Center as the example on moosechips.com shows will have to wait for another day.

Thanks for the help and Happy New Year!