This sounds amazing to me - that it's harder to find *all* the deps for Linux than it is for Windows. Is it simply because you are new to the game or is it something Linuxy?
Not at all, it is more of a reaction. Finding and building all these libs on windows is much much more difficult and time consuming. Add that to the fact that windows lacks a good package manager like can be found in any linux distro. Inkscape has made it a priority to give those interested in building on windows the easiest time possible. (In hopes that we could attract more win32 developers because a large portion of our user base ins win32 but only a very small portion of our developer base.) Thanks to the hard work of Bob Jamison in collecting the packages we have a wonderful situation. A windows developer requires only three (rather large) downloads to compile inkscape.
Bear with me, I am still a little confused here. I understand you to be saying that you are trying to attract win32 developers and that there is a really good system now for compiling for windows, but I don't quite get why a static tar.gz solution for Linux is not possible.
Package managers like apt have made it very simple to find and install dependencies on linux for a long time now. If you are having difficulties file a bug against your distro.
I would be a little foolish to file a bug against Fedora 3, since it is so old. One of the things that unsettles me about Linux is the rapid rate of change. Even ubuntu goes bang, bang, bang every 6 months or so. I am trying to squeeze more life out of FC3, I kinda told myself I would change-up every 2 years. Perhaps I am doing things wrong, I dunno.
I mean, if the guys who actually code inkscape cannot determine the exact list of dependencies it needs then how the heck can anyone else? :D
That is ridiculous. This isn't the situation at all. We are fully aware of the dependencies. (You should probably not risk offending people with comments like this if you would like assistance. ;-) )
Oops. Reading my comment again, it does sound sarcastic. I did not mean it that way, it was supposed to express my feeling of confusion and being a little at the mercy of bits and bytes that I am not able to control. No offence meant, I love Inkscape. I think it's enabling software; one of the most important OSS projects out there at the moment!
I think that is a great idea. I'd really like to have user polls on the front page of the website.
Who could I email to mention this to? I would also ask them to link to and promote the forum. I can't express how important a forum can be. Just go look at http://blenderartists.org/forum/
As I mentioned before, we have supplied semistatic packages before with much success.
Okay, I must have missed this. I did not sleep much (at all) last night, so am posting blind really! Perhaps you mean the autopackage? Still, a fully independent (huge overkill, it's understood!) tar.gz would hit the spot! Just thought of it, Blender does this too.
All of the packages available on our site are there because someone volunteered to create them. No one has volunteered to create RPMs for Fedora Core 3.
Don't suppose you get much call for FC at all though. If I manage a compile, I promise to learn how to make an rpm and then I'll contact ya ;)
Be cool, thanks for the info and the work. Donn