Get source and compile
This information is for people who want to work with the source code for the viewer.
Project Snowstorm
This is the latest Viewer code. Viewer code is stored in a Mercurial (hg) repository on bitbucket, an Open Source repository web site. There are many versions there; the one you are most likely interested in being
Other repositories where development for future features can be seen are listed on the Viewer Source Repositories page.
Another good way to browse the source code, including UML diagrams, is using the Doxygen pages.
Be sure to read Creating a version control repository.
Version Control
Viewer development uses the Mercurial (hg) distributed version control system. To clone the current release repository, use:
hg clone http://hg.secondlife.com/viewer-release
You are strongly encouraged to install the Linden Lab Mercurial Tools as well.
For a step-by-step outline of the source control workflow from the initial clone (above) to integration of your change, see Steps To Submit a Change.
Compiling
Per platform instructions are available in these topics:
Notes
- Common compilation problems if you run into errors while building.
- Improving compilation time for information on how to compile faster
- LLMozLib2 for building LLMozLib2.
Autobuild
Autobuild is the new Linden Lab framework to maintain and build everything, from viewer to 3rd party libraries.
Instructions:
Channels and Versions
Channels are just groupings of versions. Linden Lab uses channels to track and supply updates for Project, Beta, and Release Viewers separately.
On login, the combination of channel plus version is checked against a set of rules in the Viewer Version Management service. Within each channel, some versions are allowed and some are blocked. Viewers are blocked if they are too old, are unsafe (security issues), incompatible (the protocol has been changed in some fundamental way), or are a test version and Linden Lab only wants data from the most recent. See Viewer Integration and Release Processes for an explanation of how different versions are managed by Linden Lab.
If you are building a viewer, the Policy on Third Party Viewers requires that you set your own channel name.
See:
- Channel and Version Requirements
- a detailed explanation and official policy on channels and versions in Second Life, and an explanation of how to set your channel name when building.