Linked by Thom Holwerda on Tue 26th Feb 2008 20:59 UTC, submitted by Oliver

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Member since:
2006-10-08
One other reason for this circumstance is the fact that certain programs need to be compiled if options are to be set at compile time. For example, in order to put all the features and codecs you want into mplayer, you usually edit Makefile.local and add your stuff. There is no binary package for every imaginable combination of make options (e. g. WITH_SDL, WITH_VORBIS, WITHOUT_RUNTIME_CPUDETECTION). The same reason applies if you need to install software on lower end hardware (e. g. CFLAGS+= -O3 -pipe -mfpmath=sse -ffast-math). Often, compile time options give you the "speed boost" you need in order to make the application usable. Another important reason is to get hardware working the way you want, if the developers consider your hardware "nonstandard" or the behaviour you're expecting as "not usual" (e. g. support of three button mouse in X: middle mouse button + vertical movement = wheel emulation, but middle mouse button click = middle mouse button click without entering wheel emulation mode - this requires patching mouse.c from X.org and recompilation).