Really really newbie question about installing packages with tar.gz.
 

I just got RedHat9.0

I have read the README files of the packages, most of them say {Execute the installation program (./install)} but the thing is i do not know how i am supposed to do this.

I tried typing it on the navigation bar of the browser as so "/root/Downloads./install" and "/root/Downloads/./install" but both times i get error messages, "Couldn't find "/root/Downloads./oss-install". Please check the spelling and try again." and "Nautilus has no installed viewer capable of displaying "/root/Downloads/install"." respectively.

I tried downloading and installing the glibc libraries, but i already have them, and its the same thing. I'm pretty lost here...

1) do NOT use the root account to do things like this, that is NOT what it is for.

2) . means your current directory. as such ./install means "run the install script in the current directory" you needd to do this as your current directory should never be on your path, meaning you should only be able to run known installed programs in standard locations unless you explicitly say otherwise. so... you need to change to the directory and then run "./install" etc..

What do you mean by change to the directory?
As you can see, i am really really really new to this...

EDIT: Okay, i should rephrase my question i guess. Where do i type in the codes? like

where does it go?

:newbie:

EDIT again: okay, found it. System Tools, Terminal

This question shows very well that your main need now is not to be in a hurry; otherwise you will face frustrations and even give up your system. Installing packages by your own (and even from *.tgz files) is not the best job to begin with; let packages be those installed automatically (for a wile) and chose some more encouraging jobs to deal with. You might play your existing applications for instance. What such applications do you have now? What do you know about your system?

While I agree that as a new user you should try to learn how things work, I also am a strong believer that in computer science you learn as you go... so I think it is a good thing to learn to install packages like tar, and tag.gz
So, this is what you do when you want to install a new program using a compressed format like tar.gz
1. Create a directory (like /home/<your home directory>/tmp
2. copy the *.tar.gz file into that directory
3. type "./configure && make && su -c 'make install"
4. when the system prompts you for the root password type it in and ... you are done.

Let me explain what you are doing here, though.

./configure (configures the source files to your system)
the "&& "" means and, so if the configuration part succeeds then it will also run the next command (make).
the make creates an installation fit to your system and finally su -c 'make install' indicates that you want to be the super-user (so you will be prompted for the root password) and the execute a command 'make install'.

Hope this helps.

Rick

Yea, thanks for that.
Thing is i keep getting a gcc, g++ error message. It tells me i do not have it.

That is possible. See, depending what you installed it is possible that you do not have those packages. I typically install everything on my installation of the OS.
If that is the case then you will have to install those packages.

Rick

From what i gather online, the only way i can fix this IS to reinstall my whole OS...

Nope. You just install the packages that the system is asking your for.
Thta's it.


Rick

For a good read for the Very-new-to-Linux, google up a copy of "Newbies Linux Manual" (I got it from www.linuxdot.org). It has many of the commands newbies will need to learn, things experienced users do every day without thinking twice and take for granted. It has a very good discussion on how to deal with tarballs (the .tar and .tar.gz files).

Yea, apparently i did not install any software developer's packages. But when i try to add it with the Linux CD i get an error and it says it cannot find system dependencies.
openssl=0.9.7a-2
krb5-libs=1.2.7-10

and searched the net and found the tarballs for these, but i could not install them... because i did not have g++

So basically, i the package i want to install is dependent on the package i need to install as a dependency for the package i want to install.

Thanks guys, but one day of surfing and i pretty much got a lot of the non-GUI terminal commands in my head already:D.(Linux is not THAT hard) Thing is, none of the site actually tells you you need to open the terminal... which was the original reason i made the thread. But now there's the g++ problem

A couple of observations, if you will permit.

The Terminal: check the system tray for an icon that looks like a computer CRT with a shell overlayed (if you're using KDE environment). That's the terminal: a command-line utility that let's you enter commands manually, instead of point-and-click-to-the-point-of-nausea to try to get things done. With the terminal, once you are comfortable with command-line, you can frequently get things done faster that via point-and-click. It depends where your hands are. If on the keyboard, use terminal. If your hand is on the mouse, use point-and-click. Become familiar with both.

RedHat: it's an rpm based system. You probably rarely need tarballs to install apps. Find an rpm. Rpmfind.net is your friend, and RedHat rpms abound.

I'm suprised that RedHat installed, and didn't install glibc. Check your package manager (don't know what it's called in RedHat). If glibc doesn't show up as installed, then select it, insert the appropriate cd/dvd when prompted, and have done with it.