die haben irgendwelche pfade im programm und bei suse klappt das nicht.

this one doesn't work, because suse has different idea of how software should be installed and the paths compiled into the program are different from suse's.

autoconf and libtool should be in the d (development) package, not the n (network) one...

sorry for that. i'm always mixing up suse's packages ...

<rant> because it's not true most of the time (i think with mod_webapp it's ok because mod_webapp in fact does not need any configure options and entering the three commands should work for you).

but having to read two eventually pretty long and extensive text files to configure a software installer with cryptic parameteres is not as simple as "installing end user software on other systems".

it's not that i think it is too difficult, it's just about that myth that makes many people believe they could do it quickly and then leaves them alone frustrated. </rant>

It's just a matter of knowing the basic mechanics of your operating system. Of course if you spent your life on Mac OS and Windows, Linux/Unix will be mysterious to you. But that's just a matter of familiarity, really. Don't underestimate the time and effort you needed to learn Windows and Mac. It's possible that you found learning the Mac more enjoyable than learning Linux, but you still had to learn and the rest is really just a question of taste.

For me, the configure/make approach works flawlessly and just as easy as a Windows install 95% of the time, especially with software that is "close to the tradition" and not trying doing new and unproven (which is the reason Tomcat still has some quirks).

last time I did it was for importing pictures from my l'espion cam. I even had to configure/make two packages, lib_usb and gphoto2, but it was a smooth and flawless process and I don't think it took more than 15 minutes (including finding what it would take and where to get it).

Of course updating to Mandrake 8.2 ruined it all...

linux itself can be easy (think of rpm) or difficult (compiling). i see a big difference here and – no matter which os it is about – any system that pretends to be easier than it actually is, goes for self-betrayal and bullshits its users (remember what you have written about suse?).

I think building from source is easier than installing RPMs in many cases. I really feel that way.

Another example: Check out the build instructions for Mozilla on Linux/Unix, Windows and Mac. I'm positive that I could get Mozilla to build in 10 minutes, and I'm equally sure I wouldn't get it to build on Windows or Mac in one day even if I had all the tools.

Regarding what I wrote about SuSE, I don't understand how that is related to our current topic at all.

obviously this discussion turns into a direction of personal taste. i probably got you wrong because it was not my intention to compare compilation howtos on different platforms (or discuss your personal skills) but simply question the way skilled people sometimes picture a difficult (or let's say complex) task / system etc. for not-so-skilled people. i thought there is a parallel to your suse essay because suse started "die Eigenheiten und Unzulänglichkeiten des Systems zu kaschieren". and that's what i bump into many times reading how easy this and that task is to do (and then it's not). might be a question of perspective but i don't think the "i can do it so you must, too" attitude is a very helpful one (and i am not talking about your attitude, here).

i am as familiar with mac os x as with linux.

the first problem was tracing the source of the malfunction. there is apache, tomcat and the mod_webapp. it took me one day to make certain it was the module, because i connected my desktop mac's apache to tomcat installed on the linux box. the tomcat documentation is missleading, the error message is useless to me and all pages i found turned out to be pointing into a wrong direction.

when it came to compiling it was not clear from the start what is needed. as non-expert i thought it was sufficient to compile the mod_webapp. but there were some headers and libs from the module builder thingy which is part of the apache project. it's plain confusing and annoying to me as a spoiled mac user that i need to download megabytes of sources to build a 160kb app.

however, it's up running and i hope my experience is helpful for future helma installations or the documentation.