[Mac] compiling binaries?

[coldbear]

Hi.

Yes, you are correct, I should not have bought a Mac. At the time, it was the only way for me to record WoW PVE/PVP movies without showing the UI. I no longer play WoW. My next computer will not be a Mac. Too much trouble. The result of my hard work was a mostly UI-less 1h 33min movie, link in sig.

I am also not that terribly technically savvy. Bit of a neanderthal, if you will.

So can someone explain to me what one needs to do to "compile a binary" on Mac OS X? Got an easy link that I can click to read more?

Reason why I'm asking is that I've recently discovered that games like

Elite
Wing Commander
Escape Velocity
Ultima
Roguelikes
X-Com UFO whatever

...etc, are all available in various open source beta formats, but usually just say "download, compile binary" at which point I'm stuck. Google and wikipedia hasn't helped much. I'm guessing this has to do with using command-line stuff like the Terminal (?) and getting several different computer files (libraries, other stuff and "executables"?) to actually create and/or run an application, and I'd like to learn about it.

If you'd be willing to help me with this I'd be more than willing to explain anything related to National Security, International Relations, CrossFit or how to survive in an aluminum dive suit at 2,000ft depth. Or making WoW movies on a Mac.

[Plagous]

Most packages like those use a configure script and a makefile to compile with gcc/g++/gfortran. When in doubt, read the README and INSTALL files.

$ cd /path/to/folder
$ ./configure
$ make
$ sudo make install

Note: The $ signifies that the command should be done as a regular user.