How to Make a Wget Compilation for UNIX

Wget is a content retrieval program. It's free to download and fairly easy to use. It is a robust, portable and non-interactive downloading program capable of recursive downloads. It emerged in the mid-1990s and was designed for UNIX or UNIX-like systems. However, since then it has become more widely adapted. Follow these instructions to perform a Wget compilation for UNIX.

Things You'll Need

• Internet access
• UNIX OS

Instructions

1. Download Wget. You'll download source code for the program, but because it was designed for UNIX, it will be easy to install on your machine. You can download Wget from a number of sites, including Ice Walkers and GNU (see Resources below).

2. Unzip the source code file. The zip file will be named "-dc wget-1.10.tar.gz." Type "$ gzip -dc wget-1.10.tar.gz | tar -xvf -" to unzip it.

3. Open the file from the resultant unzipped folder by typing "$ cd wget-1.10."

4. Type "./configure" to configure Wget on your UNIX operating system.

5. Build the program by entering "$ make." Type "# make install" to complete the installation.

Tips & Warnings

• Wget allows users to begin downloads and then log out of the program unlike a traditional browser that requires users to keep it open and continue to interact with it.

• Wget-1.10 is the name of the latest version of the program. If you're compiling an older Wget, it will have a different version number.

• You can access the help prompt of Wget by typing "--help" if you're having problems.

• If you don't limit the bandwidth Wget is allowed to use, it may possibly use up your entire bandwidth in order to download something.