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I need to compile an old apache version, 1.3 and compilation process fails because:

mod_auth_dbm.c:77:18: fatal error: ndbm.h: File or directory not found

where is it?

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2 Answers

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That file here (Fedora 18) belongs to gdbm-devel, the package containing it for Ubuntu should be named similarly. Check the dependencies for the source, you'll probably need a swath of -devel packages corresponding to each dependency.

What do you need an outdated apache, which moreover has known vulnerabilities? Why doesn't the distribution's apache work? It is probably a much better idea to port whatever requires that apache forward than to get stuck in prehistory...

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I downloaded that package but ndbm.h is still unfound because now I have gdbm.h and gdbm-ndbm.h. I need that version just because of vulnerabilities: I need to do some penetration testing using known exploits. – Phate Mar 4 at 17:36
There is no gdbm-devel package in ubuntu. There is libgdbm-dev that is most similar by name, unfortunately it doesn't contain ndbm.h, however it contains /usr/include/gdbm-ndbm.h. Maybe it's the one is needed, – rush Mar 4 at 17:46
Ok, I made a symbolic link to this latter file and it worked. Problem is that now it searches for a db.h file... – Phate Mar 4 at 17:53
db.h is part of Berkeley DB, another project to replace DBM (currently owned by Oracle, under some non-free license). Is this perhaps the config script lloking for available DBM functionality? In that case you should just leave things be. – vonbrand Mar 4 at 17:57
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In ubuntu there is apt-file package that allows you to find package which contains specified file. You need to install it with

sudo apt-get install apt-file

update the cache with

apt-file update

and than you can to search the package you need with

apt-file search ndbm.h

There is only tendra package, that contains file with such name.

Also libgdbm-dev contains /usr/include/gdbm-ndbm.h. May be it's the one you need. You can try to compile with it.

ps. Also you can use search on ubuntu site.

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I don't think tendra has anything to do with this. dbm was a "database" (really a library for handling a table of a database only, part of early Unix), which in turn was replaced by ndbm (new DBM, had some licensing issues); gdbm (GNU dbm) was written to replace both. The whole sordid story is covered by Wikipedia. Perhaps there is still a ndbm-dev package in some non-free repo? – vonbrand Mar 4 at 17:53

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