Creating .deb packages with Checkinstall

I am one of many who have had to compile a new version or some application which is not in your repositories, the problem with this is that when compiling in a directory application save your libraries and other files in the directory where you compiled it, and if we update the package looks like trash or if we delete the application folder it does not work anymore. "It is preferable to create a package and install it«, Yes, but not all of us are good with make, so I present to you checkinstall, which comes to facilitate the task.

Well, checkinstall it's nothing but a little wizard per terminal to create .deb packages. So we can compile and create packages to, for example, send them to our friends.

To start with, we have to install checkinstall. So we do (as root):

apt-get install checkinstall

And in an instant we will have it installed ... The next thing is to go to the binder in which we have the application code, and open a terminal. We execute the following commands, one by one:

./configure
make

With "./configure»The packages for our distribution are configured and a«makefile"(a file containing compilation instructions), and with "make»Compile the code and leave the binaries, libraries, etc. in the folder«src«. Now, before continuing, it is recommended not have installed the application from which the package will be made. If it is, do a:

sudo make uninstall

And then it's time to start with the important part, the use of checkinstall. In that same terminal, we write:

sudo checkinstall

And the «assistant"To checkinstall. In it we can modify information  which will have the package that we will create. The options that we can modify are:

• maintainer- The main developer of the package.
• Summary: a description of the package.
• Name: name you want to give the package.
• Version: package version.
• Release: It is the main version of the package, we can leave it as it comes.
• License: application license, it is preferable not to touch it.
• GROUP: group for which it was created, we can leave it as is.
• Brand: package processor architecture.
• source location: name of the folder (only the folder, not the entire path) where the package code is.
• Alternate source location: no need to modify it.
• Requires: dependencies that must be installed for their correct operation.
• provides: name of the package it provides, it is not necessary to modify it.
• conflicts: packages with which it conflicts.
• replaces: packages it replaces.

Creating a .deb package with Checkinstall.