Which post-installation steps would you recommend to get a working setup for compiling
stuff? There are for sure the 2.20 binutils and the gcc 4.4.2 to install, also mintlib.
But is gcc 4.4.3 good for me already? Should i ask Mark for his updated rpms?
As you say, fresh mintlib and gcc/binutils are the must. I think 4.4.2 is enough, there's nothing special in 4.4.3.
Apropo, what about binary release of mintlib 0.59? I've done it for myself (thanks to my patches =) but some official build wouldn't hurt.
But there are also some updates that i am not sure whether they help or hurt.
And a messed up install with wild trial and error installs i already had. Was no fun.
First rule: always install into /usr/local -- then, if you something mess up, you're free to type "rm -rf /usr/local" and you're OK (no need to worry about file structure, every "make install" creates directories if necessary).
Second rule: don't forget to set PATH to point first into /usr/loca/bin :) (for example in .bashrc)
And last, it depends on what you want to build... most of GNU software requires newer autotools, texinfo etc packages (available from Keith for some time or you can build it by yourself, mostly "./configure && make && make install" kind of work) ... SDL library (available from Patrice or again, make your own build) is helpful for porting things ... as I say, it varies a lot.
And of course, if you don't plan to build anything (or kernel only) you don't need any update -- kernel does not link against mintlib (or any other lib except libgcc).