# Linux programmers: Help!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linux-programmers-help/145227
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [December 27, 2002, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linux-programmers-help/145227 "2002-12-27T20:32:54Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)
#### Post date: [December 27, 2002, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linux-programmers-help/145227/1 "2002-12-27T20:32:54Z")
Ok, the semi-relevant background information:
I have a project I’m working on, primarily to learn to be a somewhat competent programmer. The point of this project is for me to learn how to write a program with a GUI, and the toolkit I’ve chosen to use is GTK+ with the GTK-- (GTKmm) wrapper for C++.
Now I’m going through the documentation and introduction to gtkmm at [http://www.gtkmm.org/gtkmm2/docs/tutorial/html/ch03.html](http://www.gtkmm.org/gtkmm2/docs/tutorial/html/ch03.html). I put in the basic, basic sample program, and everything compiled fine. But when I try to run it, I get this error:
> [@](#):
>
> ./gtktest: error while loading shared libraries: libgtkmm-2.0.so.1: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
Now I know the file is there, because I spent a couple hours last night compiling and installing packages to be sure gtkmm-2.0 is installed properly, and a quick ‘find’ reveals that libgtkmm-2.0.so.1 is located in /usr/local/lib/, exactly where you might expect it to be.
Now I’m pretty strong at configuring unix, networking, installing systems and packages, troubleshooting, and shell and very basic c/c++ programming, etc, so I’m not a complete newbie, and can understand a technical answer. But I’m in the dark with this whole aspect of it.
How do I tell my system that the file is present, where to find it, and that it should be used?
As a side question, how would I link the libraries in statically (just a curiosity, since I do want to use dynamic linking)?
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### Author:  [@fauxpas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fauxpas)
#### Post date: [December 27, 2002, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linux-programmers-help/145227/2 "2002-12-27T20:47:50Z")
well first of tell your computer by going to regedit and changing the name of one the programs files or for a more better resul create a new file and call it (program name) syntax code for entering and using. WALLAH!
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### Author:  [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)
#### Post date: [December 27, 2002, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linux-programmers-help/145227/3 "2002-12-27T21:54:10Z")
I have no idea what you just said. Sounds like marketing advice from Mousebat, Follicle, Goosecreature, Ampersand, Spong, Wapcaplet, Looseliver, Vendetta, and Prang.
The NOW program!
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### Author:  [@sweepkick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweepkick)
#### Post date: [December 27, 2002, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linux-programmers-help/145227/4 "2002-12-27T22:08:33Z")
Hmm… what happens if you set the LD\_LIBRARY\_PATH environment variable to /usr/local/lib?
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### Author:  [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)
#### Post date: [December 27, 2002, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linux-programmers-help/145227/5 "2002-12-27T22:16:24Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by fauxpas \*
> \*\*well first of tell your computer by going to regedit and changing the name of one the programs files or for a more better resul create a new file and call it (program name) syntax code for entering and using. WALLAH! \*\*
Linux doesn’t have a registry or anything like a registry. Your comments may be appropriate in a MS-Windows environment, but not in Linux.
BTW, the word is `_viola_’.
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### Author:  [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)
#### Post date: [December 27, 2002, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linux-programmers-help/145227/6 "2002-12-27T22:33:42Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by sweepkick \*
> \*\*Hmm… what happens if you set the LD\_LIBRARY\_PATH environment variable to /usr/local/lib? \*\*
What happens? Why, the program works. Thanks much. I knew it’d be something simple like that.
By any chance, do you know what the default path is? Is it just /usr/lib or is there more to it?
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### Author:  [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)
#### Post date: [December 27, 2002, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linux-programmers-help/145227/7 "2002-12-27T22:44:08Z")
Try adding /usr/local/lib to /etc/ld.so.conf and re-running ldconfig. That should add the new libraries to your linker permanently.
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### Author:  [@Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Guy)
#### Post date: [December 27, 2002, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linux-programmers-help/145227/8 "2002-12-27T23:20:45Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Derleth \*
> \*\*Linux doesn’t have a registry or anything like a registry. Your comments may be appropriate in a MS-Windows environment, but not in Linux.
>
> BTW, the word is `_viola_’. \*\*
It is actually ‘voila’ 😛 .
Oh, and just to actually add to the topic, you should also make sure that all library files, and the directories you store them in, have appropriate permissions - it’s not enough for the permissions on your executable to be correct. Just a note for the future; doesn’t sound like you need it now.