Im new to linux and was wondering what all of the binary files are and how they are run. They say they are executable but will not run when i click on them. One example is: usr/games/fortune

binary's run...just maybe not as expected.

fortune shows random quotes...if you're clicking on it, I doubt you'll see much happening (fortune ONLY shows quotes - not opens new windows with quotes)

Try to open xterm, and then run fortune (ie. '/usr/games/fortune'). This should give you a better response.
Remember, many binary programs are not designed to run in a seperate X window (gtk, etc.). So, you need to start/use them from an xterm.

Well, not all executables are binaries, such as shell scripts. And some binaries are executable only by root unless you change the permissions. I don't know - I usually run programs from the command line or clicking on menus I've written, like for blackbox. When you say 'click on', do you mean in a KDE/Gnome file manager, or panel menu or what? Those should be on your path and executable by any user, though those are the things to check first.

/usr/games? That's an odd directory. usually, executables are in /bin, /sbin, /usr/local/bin, /opt/kde/bin, etc.

Anyway - check the path, check the permissions. If that doesn't clear things up, check back with what desktop environment and what source (menu/file manager/etc) you're using. That's all I can think of.

-edit- Man, I gotta learn how to type. And, um, think faster. But, yeah, good points - a lot of apps don't do much or seem to do much and some are console, some are box, some are GUI windows, etc. *g*

Binaries are installation files. The method of installing is generally to put the binary in a suitable place eg /home/user and unpack and READ the read me that comes with the binary. Most have a general 3 stage process. The binary will generally tell you where to place the binary. I usually put mine in /usr/src. The steps are;
1. go into a console as root
2.cd to the unpacked binary directory
3.use the command "./configure"
4.use the command "make"
5.use the command "make install"

Huh? Those are tarballs containing source to make binaries, aren't they - not binaries, themselves? He's talking about stuff that I assume was dumped in by his installtion process which, with Red Hat, is going to be from .rpms.

actually this is a default, along with /usr/local/games - unix geeks needed their games.


As stated earlier, I think the problem is that fortune only sends messages to standard output (which when opened by stuff as file managers - ie. "click"- is redirected to /dev/null)

Are those real commands?
If i type them it will give a msg that those aren't commands
I want to compile "install.sh" .

It helps to read the documentation, if there is any. Usually installation help can be found in a file such as README or INSTALL. I recommend you read that, so you know exactly what's going on. If there is no documentation, go and open install.sh in a editor, and see what it does. From the sound of it, maybe running './install.sh' will be enough. But be warned: there is no 'standard' for what;s supposed to happen...so read the documentation and/or look at what the script actually does. Also, you'll probably need to have root permissions.