How to compile GTK2 source code?

Question

I'm trying to modify GTK2 on Ubuntu Oneiric.

I download the source:

apt-get source libgtk2.0-0
cd gtk+2.0-2.24.6/

I try to compile and overwrite the current GTK2:

./configure --prefix=/usr
sudo make

Soemhow I get an error (I have all the necessary libraries and the build-essential package etc):

In file included from gtkquery.c:26:0:
gtkquery.h:31:2: error: #error "gtkfilechooserprivate.h is not supported API for general use"

By the way, I am able to modify and recompile GTK3 with no problems with the same steps.

If use debuild, I get thousands of

dpkg-source: error: cannot represent change to gtk+2.3.0-2.24.6/gtk+2.0-2.24.6/something: binary file contents changed

Answer 1

You won't get anything near the Ubuntu-provided build if you try building it by hand that way -- you'll miss all the ./configure options and other settings. (Look into debian/rules for the full details of what they're setting.)

Instead, try debian/rules build.

For reasons I haven't investigated yet (possibly including me not understanding how it should work), that didn't work on the first package I tried, but setting up pbuilder let me build the package I wanted.

It might feel like overkill to get a clean chroot as a build environment, but it is way too easy to build yourself problems that no one else in the world can replicate because you've got something funny on your local system.