Installation with tarballs
 

ok, package managers are great, but what if i need to use a tarbal?

ok, so i've uncompessed, /.configed made made install and...blah

the files just sit in my download folder... I can now access the program... but only if i do a ./program.

my questions is... where should I move these files to (just put the actually executable in the /usr/bin folder? what about the other files that are just sitting in the dl folder?) and how do i make them execute from the command line by just typing their name?

Well, most packages can be installed with a simple "make install" (as root), and they will put the packages out into various directories. Most of the programs also have README or other doc files that come with them, telling you how to install it...that's the best place for info, since each program will have different needs, paths, etc.

If not, copy the program file somewhere into your path. Type in "echo $PATH", and it'll display a list of directories. Pick one, and copy the file into it.

usually, I copy the source files to /usr/local/src, and then ./configure, make ,make install.

Which package did you install?
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