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I'm reading some readmes and they contain some packages with "-devel", and some without. What is the difference?

sudo yum install gcc

(vs)

sudo yum install pcre-devel

What would happen if I installed "sudo yum install pcre" instead?

Dave
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  • Thanks for the question, Dave. I was getting ready to ask what -devel and -runtime installations offer a user. IDWMaster's answer works for me! – harperville Mar 12 '14 at 19:52

1 Answers1

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Devel libraries typically contain development header and debug resources that are not necessary for the end-user runtime. These headers and debug resources are used for the purpose of developing applications based on the library; not just running applications that require the library. If you install the package without -devel, it only installs the end-user runtime, and not the development headers and debug symbols.

bbosak
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