2.3 Precompiled Binaries

Some Unix distributions include, or make available, precompiled Squid packages. For Linux, you can easily find Squid RPMs. Often the Squid RPM is included on Linux CD-ROMs you can buy. The FreeBSD/NetBSD/OpenBSD distributions also contain Squid in their ports and/or packages collections.

While RPMs and precompiled packages may initially save you some time, they also have some drawbacks. As I already mentioned, certain features must be enabled or disabled before you start compiling Squid. The precompiled package that you install may not have the particular feature you want. Furthermore, Squid's ./configure script probes your operating system for certain parameters. These parameters may be configured differently on your machine on which Squid was compiled. Finally, if you want to apply a patch to Squid, you'll either have to wait for someone to build a new RPM/package or get the source and do it yourself.

I strongly encourage you to compile Squid from the source, but the decision is yours to make.