Ubuntu on i386 has the Objective C compiler, I'd be very surprised if the PPC port doesn't (it's just a front end for GCC after all). It might be called 'gobc' or something similar. Have a look through the GUI software installation tool that Ubuntu has and you'll prolly find it.
The Objective C package on most distros (I think) comes with some of the extra stuff, such as the run time system etc. Generally, if you try and compile GNUstep Make and Base without having installed the package, 'configure' will fail telling you that you don't have a working Objective C compiler.
Update: sllloooowwwly going further, making notes to make an uber leet noob maanual (which -if successful- I will then post @ the wiki and Ubuntu forums, in the hope some other people will come aboard, hee)
make
Making all for app oolite...
Compiling file GuiDisplayGen.m ...
In bestand ingevoegd door OpenGLSprite.h:44, ##inserted in file by
door GuiDisplayGen.h:57,
door GuiDisplayGen.m:40:
SDLImage.h:13:26: let op: SDL_rotozoom.h: Onbekend bestand of map ##Warning: unknown file or map
In bestand ingevoegd door OOSound.h:10,
door GuiDisplayGen.m:44:
SDLSound.h:13:23: fout: SDL_mixer.h: Onbekend bestand of map ##Error: unknown file or map
In file included from OOSound.h:10,
from GuiDisplayGen.m:44:
SDLSound.h:23: fout: syntax error before ‘Mix_Chunk’ ##Error
In file included from OOSound.h:11,
from GuiDisplayGen.m:44:
SDLMusic.h:15: fout: syntax error before ‘Mix_Music’ ##Error
make[1]: *** [shared_obj/GuiDisplayGen.o] Fout 1 ##Error 1
make: *** [oolite.all.app.variables] Fout 2 ##Error 2
make
Making all for app oolite...
Compiling file GuiDisplayGen.m ...
In file included from OpenGLSprite.h:44,
from GuiDisplayGen.h:57,
from GuiDisplayGen.m:40:
SDLImage.h:13:26: let op: SDL_rotozoom.h: No such file or directory
In file included from OOSound.h:10,
from GuiDisplayGen.m:44:
SDLSound.h:13:23: fout: SDL_mixer.h: No such file or directory
In file included from OOSound.h:10,
from GuiDisplayGen.m:44:
SDLSound.h:23: error: syntax error before ‘Mix_Chunk’
In file included from OOSound.h:11,
from GuiDisplayGen.m:44:
SDLMusic.h:15: error: syntax error before ‘Mix_Music’
make[1]: *** [shared_obj/GuiDisplayGen.o] Error 1
make: *** [oolite.all.app.variables] Error 2
Right… it’s looking for, and not finding, the header files for the SDL_mixer and SDL_rotozoom libraries. There may be packages for them; if not, they’re available from libsdl.org.
In particular, the build for SDL_mixer et al. is straightforward if Ubuntu doesn't have development packages for them (but I imagine Ubuntu has all this prepackaged - IIRC, some Debian user mentioned they had installed all the requisite development kit from Debian's repo, so I'd imagine Ubuntu should have it too).
Thanks!
(scurries off)
(edit: scurries back:)
As I thought: libsdl-mixer1.2(and dev) and libsdlgfx1.2-4 (which says it provides rotozoom) are in place; maybe I need a libsdlgfx dev?
(make-ing the whole bunch from the tarballs from libsdl link anyway)
Ok, learned a lot how NOT to do things, going to restart all over.
One thing I still don't understand, during make I got a lot of complaining/warning rotozoom could not be found, and i seem unable to find it at libsdl... am I looking in the right place?