Self-contained executable for any Linux x86_64 distribution

[Lutz Vieweg]

Hi all,

I made an attempt to create a self-contained binary executable archive
that should be runnable on most 64bit Linux distributions that are not
older than 6 years.

Since I have only limited opportunity to test this on different
distributions, I cannot be sure that I actually succeeded, so let's
call this an experiment, and I would like to hear your feedback.

If you want to try it: Just download the archive from:
> https://ia601603.us.archive.org/30/items/SubsurfaceExecutablesSelfcontained/subsurface_301_selfcontained_linux_x86_64.tgz

Notice that the size of the archive is just ~30MB, even though it
is contains every shared library, including glibc, and is packed
only using gzip (to help people that do not have xz at hand).

For the rest of the instructions, I'm citing here the README.txt
that is also within the archive:

> This is a self-contained binary executable archive of Subsurface 3.0.1,
> including all its dependencies.
>
> Installation:
> =============
>
> Just unpack this directory to whereever you like - you don't need to be "root" to do that, e.g.:
>
>  cd $HOME
>  tar xzf subsurface_selfcontained.3.0.1.tgz
>
> This will create a subdirectory named "subsurface". DO NOT RENAME THE "subsurface" DIRECTORY!
> You can move it at any time whereever you want, but DO NOT RENAME IT.
>
> Running Subsurface:
> ===================
>
> Just invoke the script "subsurface/start_scripts/subsurface", e.g.:
>
>   $HOME/subsurface/start_scripts/subsurface
>
> If you like, you can create a symbolic link from that script to somewhere
> in your $PATH.
>
> Known Issues:
> =============
>
> If your /etc/nsswitch.conf configuration contains a line like this:
>
>  hosts:      files mdns4_minimal [NOTFOUND=return] dns myhostname
>
> you will not be able to use online-services, including the OSM map, from within
> Subsurface, instead you will see error message like this:
>
> (subsurface:9621): libsoup-CRITICAL **: soup_session_real_requeue_message: assertion `item != NULL' failed
> (subsurface:9621): OsmGpsMap-WARNING **: Error downloading tile: 2 - Cannot resolve hostname (...)
>
> This is because this glibc shipped with this archive cannot know each and
> every service module that was invented later somewhere.
>
> But if you don't need such strange features as "Multicast DNS", you can fix this
> issue by changing the above mentioned line in /etc/nsswitch.conf to e.g.:
>
>  hosts:      files dns myhostname
>
>
> DISCLAIMER:
> ===========
>
> This free software comes without any warranty for anything.
>
> Do not use this "self contained" version if you have better options, like
> retrieving a ready-made package from your Linux distribution or compiling
> from the source - which, by the way, you can find at
> http://subsurface.hohndel.org/
>
> Most libraries contained in this archive were compiled from their
> public sources, some where copied from the free & open source Linux
> distribution CentOS 5.6.
>
>
> Enjoy!

Regards,

Lutz Vieweg