Getting the Source Code

Getting Source Code to Build

There are two ways to obtain the source code for a particular software item.

Downloading a source tarball (i.e. sourcefile.tgz or sourcefile.tar.gz)
This method of obtaining the source code is pretty straightforward. All you have to do is find the software website and download the tarball as directed on the website.
Using Concurrent Version Systems (CVS) software to download the latest source code for a particular project. This method of obtaining source code is a little more involved. With a CVS download, you have to have CVS installed on your box (most distros include it in the standard or developer's install scenario). Then, you have to know how to use CVS to obtain the source code. We'll describe some generic procedures for using CVS to get a source package. More advanced features/functions of CVS will be left to the discretion of the audience.

Using CVS to obtain source code

Usually, a project will use CVS as it's source code management system. CVS is a very powerful CM (configuration/code management) tool. However, for our purposes, it will be used primarily for obtaining the latest source code and then keeping that source code up to date. You will find most times that the code from a CVS source server is a step ahead of the "release" code (usually provided in a source package or source tarball).

Setting up anonymous access to the CVS server

First thing you must do is login to the CVS server from which you will be getting the source code. This login only needs to be performed once. Usually, the password for an anonymous login is either NULL (hit the enter key) or anoncvs. If the project you are getting sources for has a website, then most likely there will be instructions on obtaining their source via CVS. These instructions are usually given in a standard form:

...to login to the anonymous CVS server
cvs -d<repository> login <enter>

...to checkout a module from the CVS server
cvs -d<repository> checkout <module name>

<repository> is a structure describing the CVS server and the location of the CVS sources on that server. This option is formatted like the following:

:pserver:anoncvs@cvs.gnome.org:/cvs/gnome
This is the repository for downloading GNOME sources from the GNOME CVS server.
<module name> is the source code package you are attempting to download. CVS uses the concept of modules so that more sophisticated and intricate relationships between logical pieces of code can be created. To see all of the modules on a CVS server, after having performed the login portion of the above two commands, type the following:

cvs -d<repository> checkout -c
CVS allows the use of "shortcuts". For example, instead of using the word checkout above, you can use the shortcut co. So, to see all the modules on a CVS server repository, you can use:

cvs -d<repository> co -c