README.md: Add some build hints

murraycu · murraycu · commit 014bdf606db1 · 2019-01-10T10:06:38.000+01:00
This fixes issue #18: #18 Note that this file should not duplicate too much from the website. Information should be on the website or in the README.md, but rarely in both places.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
-# libsigc++ -- The Typesafe Callback Framework for C++
-
+# libsigc++ : The Typesafe Callback Framework for C++
 
 ## Introduction
 
@@ -18,7 +17,59 @@ See the [libsigc++ web site](https://libsigcplusplus.github.io/libsigcplusplus/)
 Distribution of library and components is under the LGPL as listed in the
 file COPYING. Examples and tests are Public Domain.
 
-# Compatibility
+## Compatibility
 
 Compatible compilers must support C++17, such as the decltype(auto) specifier
 (from C++14) and std::invoke().
+
+## Build
+
+Whenever possible, you should use the official binary packages approved by the
+supplier of your operating system, such as your Linux distribution. For
+instance, Ubuntu Linux, Debian Linux and Fedora Linux have official libsigc++
+packages.
+
+## Building from a release tarball
+
+Building from the [libsigc++ release tarball](https://github.com/libsigcplusplus/libsigcplusplus/releases) is easier than building from git.
+
+For instance:
+```sh
+$ ./configure --prefix=/usr/local
+$ make
+$ make install
+```
+
+## Building from git
+
+Building from git can be difficult so you should prefer building from a release
+tarball unless you need to work on the libsigc++ code itself.
+
+To build from git you may use either the autotools build (used by most
+developers) or CMake (should work too).
+
+### Building from git with autotools
+
+You must have autotools properly installed (autoconf, automake, etc) and you
+will also need [mm-common](https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/mm-common/).
+
+```sh
+$ ./autogen.sh --prefix=/usr/local
+$ make
+$ make check
+```
+
+### Building from git with CMake
+
+The CMake build is not used very often by the libsigc++ developers, but it
+should work, and we would welcome improvements.
+
+For instance:
+
+```sh
+$ mkdir libsigcplusplus_build
+$ cd libsigcplusplus_build
+$ cmake path/to/libsigcplusplus
+$ make
+```
+
