how to open downloaded software?

barkly54 · 12-03-2007, 02:36 PM

ok im new to linux&knoppix! i would like to know if anybody can tell me where i can read up on how to use command's like opening downloaded software and whay is used to open downloaded software. what are the correct command lines to use?

MensaWater · 12-03-2007, 02:51 PM

It depends on how the software was bundled. Typically the site you download from will tell you what you need to do. Look for a "README" for the software.

A lot of software is distributed with suffix "tgz". A tgz file is "tarred" and "gzipped". You can see what is in the bundle by typing:

tar -tzvf <filename>.tgz

You can extract it by typing:

tar -xzvf <filename>.tgz

Other bundles are dependent on the distro you use. For example RedHat variants like RHEL, CentOS and Fedora use a .rpm suffix - these are called "RPMs" - rpm = redhat package manager. For those the intent is not to unbundle so much as to install. One uses the rpm command to install those packages.

Other variants use their own way of doing things.

You really need to review the site where you found the download to insure you know exactly what is expected. Many packages in tgz are not compiled so even after doing an extract you need to do other steps to configure and compile. Typically this kind of information is in the README files and the README files are often available on the download site as separate links to be read online or as downloads so you can just get the README without the rest of the package.

mikebudohiee · 12-03-2007, 02:57 PM

I wish I could tell you a simple answer to you question. Yes I can tell you how to download/install a file, then what type: tar, tgz, gz, rpm, do you have to compile it? This isn't a simple answer unless you give specifics. I would recommend reading a beginners guide to unix/linux.You can search on-line for e-books or go down to your local book store.

chickenman · 12-03-2007, 03:02 PM

Barkly54

Have you tried this sites How to files?

http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/lin...are-linux.html

Chickenman

craigevil · 12-03-2007, 03:28 PM

APT HowTo: http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/ap....html#contents Would be a good place to start.

Using Debian Linux Packages
http://www.aboutdebian.com/packages.htm

Installing packages from source code with checkinstall
http://www.debian-administration.org/articles/147

Basics of the Debian package management system
http://www.debian.org/doc/FAQ/ch-pkg_basics.en.html

Debian sources.list
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...e.list-330913/