Problem with "make & make install" software on linux

Question

I have worked on Linux for a year. One thing bothers me is that I am not familar with the process of installing new software with source code(I can't install them from netword due to environment limitations).

I was often blocked with different kinds of error, for example:

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libtool: install: error: relink `Magick++/lib/libMagick++.la' with the above command before installing it
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or

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magick/.libs/libMagickCore.so: undefined reference to `gzseek64'
magick/.libs/libMagickCore.so: undefined reference to `gztell64'
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Though I finally found solution with google, I don't know exactly why it works.

Can anyone helps me with this situation or give me some advice on how to improve myself on such kind of things?

I am lack of the knowledage of "configure","make","difference of 64bit","shared lib"; Could anyone point me in the right direction and give me some helpful books or articles?

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

This is a complex subject, and the only advice I can think of is to learn it from the bottom up, and stop when you feel you have enough. First learn to compile code, in whatever language you like. Once you understand that you can move on to linking things, and building and using libraries. When you're comfortable with that idea you can experiment with make. If that doesn't scare you off, you can then learn how to configure.

It's a complicated process, and it's kind of amazing that we don't haven't tamed it better by now.