GIMP: Build-it (Shallow Thoughts)

GIMP: Build-it

Are you a GIMP user or Summer of Code student who's been wanting to get involved, but having trouble building, or a bit intimidated by the build process?

I'll be running a session on IRC to help anyone build GIMP on Linux, as part of the OpenHatch "Build it" project.

The session will take place on #gimp on irc.gimp.org (also known as GimpNet), on Fri, Apr 15, 0300 UTC -- that's Thursday night in the Americas. To convert to your time zone, run this command on your local machine:

$ date -d 'Fri Apr 15 03:00 UTC'
Thu Apr 14 20:00:00 PDT 2011

This is a time that's usually fairly quiet on #gimp -- European users don't fret, since it's pretty easy to get help there during more Europe-friendly time zones. I'll hang around for at least two hours; that should be plenty of time to build GIMP and all its prerequisites.

For folks new to IRC, note that irc.gimp.org is its own server -- this is not the #gimp channel on Freenode. You can learn more about IRC on the LinuxChix IRC for Beginners page, or, if you have trouble getting an IRC client configured, try this link for mibbit web chat.

Note: The #gimp IRC channel was recently under attack by trolls, and it's possible that it may not be usable at the time of the session. In that case, I will update this blog page with the name of an alternate channel to use, and any other necessarily details.

Preparation

If you want to get your system set up ahead of time, I've put the instructions needed to build on Ubuntu Lucid and other older Linux distros here: Gimp Building Tips (for Linux). I might be able to offer a little help with building on Macs, but no guarantees.

Mac and Windows users, or people running a very old Linux distro (more than a year old) might want to consider an alternate approach: install Virtualbox or VMware and install Ubuntu "Natty Narwhal" (currently still in beta) in a virtual machine.

Of course, this isn't the only time you can get help with building GIMP. There are folks around on #gimp most of the time who are happy to help with problems. But if you've been meaning to get started and want a good excuse, or you've been holding off on asking for help ... come hang out with us and try it!