[Samba] How to build just one tool from sources

[R. Diez]

>> I need a newer version of tool smbcacls because of its new options
>> '--save savefile' and '--recurse'.
> 
> They are hardly new, the options were added at Samba 4.20.0 and 4.24.0
> is in RC, so you must be using an older version of Samba if you do not
> have those options.

I am using an older version.

For reference, the latest Ubuntu LTS release, 24.04, comes with Samba 4.19.


> You certainly can build Samba yourself, but I doubt if it is a good
> idea to do it for just one binary. You may be able to build it, but
> then find it doesn't actually work because it relies on something else
> in the code that you haven't got.

Such problems shouldn't really happen, provided Samba and its build system are properly implemented.

Are there any known problems in this area?

On my workstation, the self-compiled smbcacls seems to be working OK.

The whole installation directory I specified with "./configure --prefix" weighs around 200 MB, which is a waste for just one tool, but I've got plenty of disk space to burn.


> Is there some reason why you cannot upgrade your version of Samba ?

The usual reason: upgrading systems is a lot of work, so that is why LTS distributions are so popular.

I do not think it is worth upgrading my system only to get a newer smbcacls for one particular script.

Regards,
   rdiez