GIMP 2.3, EL5 and the openSUSE Build Service

The good news is that GIMP 2.3.13 and GIMP 2.3.15 build without errors, install and run apparently well on CentOS 5.3. That is, building from the source tarballs, no extra dependencies required.

The last version from the 2.3 series was 2.3.19, so one could say that 2.3.15 is “almost 2.4”. I have personally used 2.3.13 in the past, and it already had a good deal of the features introduced with the 2.4 series.

The problem is that I am not skilled with building RPMs. This is why I tried to use the openSUSE Build Service to build EL5 packages. Starting from the gimp.spec files from EL5 (for gimp-2.2.13) and from Fedora 8 (gimp-2.4.0-0.rc3), taking notice of the changes that happened in the meantime, I thought I hacked a working spec file.

Well, I don’y know how are people supposed to use the openSUSE Build Service, because it’s defective by design:

  • When a package is built by the openSUSE Build Service, an installation is attempted in the Xen machine; if it fails, the package is declared as FAILED!
  • However, gimp requires gimp-libs, but gimp-libs (as well as gimp-devel) is built from the same sources and from the same spec file! The only thing is that it should have been installed first, but the openSUSE Build Service tries to install gimp directly, then it complains for the missing libs! This way, even the building of the official EL5 package would fail on the openSUSE Build Service!
  • The Python plugins are not built either.

How to fix this?!

On the other hand, I tried to get a 60-day trial code for SLED11. Because I had an older account with them, the stupid automated system managed to “entitle” me with 60 days of… SLED10! Who the bleep needs SLED10? Even the buying link pointed to SLED10!

Once again, don’t be surprised when Windows 7 will actually sell… even boxed! (Hoping that VLC works on it.)

UPDATE: OK, the the gimp-libs issue was my fault, I have fixed the spec file. However, the openSUSE Build Service still won’t build the Python plugins! So I dropped Novell’s services. You can find GIMP 2.3.15 and 2.3.14 for EL5 here.


This entry was posted on June 05th, 2009 and is filed under Software. Tags: , , , .
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3 Responses to “GIMP 2.3, EL5 and the openSUSE Build Service”

  1. Gravatar of Lucian 1. Lucian
    Jun 6, 2009 at 00:37

    I'll give it a try as well, if you don't succeed, but I don't know when (btw, the next 2 weeks I'll be in .ro).

    And remind me again.. why do we want newer gimp? :D

  2. Gravatar of Béranger 2. Béranger
    Jun 6, 2009 at 10:47

    GIMP 2.3.13+/2.4.x is much smarter in many regards. Not only new features, but also improved algorithms, even in resizing of a picture!

  3. Gravatar of Béranger 3. Béranger
    Jun 7, 2009 at 19:50

    Mea culpa, the hacked gimp.spec file wasn't correct, it fails to build on my CentOS too, although the sources build with the regular ./config && make && make install.

    I'll have to fix the spec file…