# The hard way: compiling ROOT and Jupyter from scratch

I repeat my {ref}`advice <installing root on your laptop>`: **Don't**.

Obviously, it's possible to install these packages from scratch; I do it
all the time. But it can take a while to learn how to do it. You'd learn
a lot about UNIX, but you'll be learning neither ROOT nor physics. Don't
expect me to break from teaching other students about ROOT to teach you
about your C++ compiler and the location of your Python distribution in
your directory hierarchy.

Now that you have been warned, here are the places to start:

-   [Python](https://wiki.python.org/moin/BeginnersGuide/Download) (if
    it's not already installed on your system)

-   [ROOT](https://root.cern/install/)

-   [Jupyter](https://jupyter.readthedocs.io/en/latest/install.html)

Please keep the following in mind:

-   These are *not* applications that you can double-click to
    automatically install. The process requires some knowledge of the
    command shell.

-   Read the installation documentation for each package. Use some
    thought and initiative. If you aren't familiar with UNIX shells
    before you started this process, you will be once you finish!

-   The
    [dockerfile](https://github.com/wgseligman/docker-jupyter-pyroot/blob/master/Dockerfile)
    I used to create the
    [wgseligman/jupyter-pyroot](https://github.com/wgseligman/docker-jupyter-pyroot)
    container may provide a clue for how to create your own
    installation.

:::{figure-md} fixing_problems-fig
:class: align-center

<img src="https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/fixing_problems.png" alt="xkcd fixing_problems" width="50%">

<https://xkcd.com/1739/> by Randall Munroe
:::