[SATLUG] run old software on new os

[Borries Demeler]

Hi Tim,

while not familiar with this particular application the problem you are
most likely running into are that the correct versions of the includes
and libraries your application links against are not available. The
"substatial list of errors" is really your friend here, because it tells
you what is wrong. There are a number of ways to go around this. First,
see if the libraries and include files are simply missing or in locations
that are not in your search path. here the solution would be to simply
download them and add them to the search path. the compiler string may
need another line like this:

-I/usr/local/src/myoldincludes -L/usr/local/src/myoldlibs

you want to make sure that don't overwrite newer versions of the same
include files with older versions, so putting them in separate directories
is a *good idea*.

Libraries are generally versioned so you can put in an older version
without overwriting the newer one. But it may still be a good idea to
keep them in a separate directory because of the symlink issue

Without seeing the "substantial list of errors" I can't really give you
any specific advice on how to solve this.

Another option is to install an older version of Linux on a different
partition where the compilation environment is compatible, compile
the application and then copy it and all the necessary libs into the
newer version.

Another option would be to use VMWare to install the old version of
Mandrake on your current system and simply compile it there and then
copy stuff across to the new system.

Finally, you could simulate the same thing by copying the entire old
Mandrake install into a subdirectory on your Suse install and then issue
the "chroot /tmp/mymandrakeinstall" command to change the root to that
directory and then pretend you are running a mandrake version. Then
Linux will just look in the standard places for includes, compiler,
libs etc. The standard places will all be relative to the mandrake
install root, so it will use the older versions instead of what's in
the regular places.

Personally, I prefer the latter option, especially since diskspace it
cheap and it is readily available for the next time you come across this
problem.

Hope that helps, -Borries

> 
> Hi, everyone.  I just recently subscribed to your list
> and am happy to see a lot of activity.  I currently
> live in Corpus, and while the local group is OK, there
> just isn't much going on other than updating machines.
>  I have a question that I feel should have an easy
> answer, but I have been unable to find that answer.  I
> am currently using SUSE 9.2 pro.  A game that I
> discovered while using Mandrake 8.2 Tuxpuck, doesn't
> compile on my new SUSE, or for that matter, anything
> else I've tried.  That includes 
> a Red Hat, Fedora, SuSE 9.0, and Mandrake 10.  The
> games version is tuxpuck-0.7.91.  The list of errors
> is substantial.  I'm guessing what is going on is the
> sdl installed is newer and not compatible with the
> required version.  This isn't terribly important,
> obviously, but I read an interview with Linus
> recently, and he mentioned that software from the 90's
> will still work with modern Linux's.  More recent
> version of Tuxpuck have installed OK, but it is the
> old version I enjoy.  Please excuse my inability to be
> concise and perhaps precise!  I'm a construction
> worker! Ha!  Anyway, if anyone can point me in the
> right direction I would appreciate it.  I do my own
> computers, and usually solve my own problems, but this
> one has me stumped.  Thanks.
> 
> 
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