Installing Programs - A simple question from my simple mind

jmp875 · 02-17-2004, 05:58 PM

sorry to waste valuable disk space with such a dumb question, but in the command line (using Konsole, not that it may matter), I'm trying to install a program (acrobat reader) with the provided executable file "INSTALL". obviously, i can't do the installation as a user, but when i try to run the INSTALL file as root, i get the message:

"bash: INSTALL: command not found"

everything seems as though it should work; what simple answer am i missing? any help would be greatly appreciated.

sincerely,
phloundering in philly

jax8 · 02-17-2004, 06:07 PM

try

./INSTALL

by default ./ in not in the PATH variable, so when you run applications you have to specifically tell the system that you are looking in the current directory. You can add ./ to the $PATH variable if you want like I have on my system, then you dont have to type ./

jmp875 · 02-17-2004, 06:29 PM

worked like a charm. many thanks.

maillion · 02-17-2004, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jax8
try

./INSTALL

by default ./ in not in the PATH variable, so when you run applications you have to specifically tell the system that you are looking in the current directory. You can add ./ to the $PATH variable if you want like I have on my system, then you dont have to type ./

Thanks jax8. Tell me, does ./ refer to a directory beneath the one you are in, or does it refer to "root"?

vectordrake · 02-17-2004, 07:48 PM

./ is like the crank on an old model "A". Its there to fire things up.

But seriously, it just says "execute this-->", right?

Tyir · 02-17-2004, 08:22 PM

actually, im pretty sure, the . refers to the current directory
So if you typed INSTALL
it will look for the executable INSTALL in your PATH, (eg in /usr/bin, those places)
If you do ./INSTALL
It executes the file called INSTALL in the PRESENT directory

. --> present directory
.. --> parent directory

jax8 · 02-18-2004, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by maillion
Thanks jax8. Tell me, does ./ refer to a directory beneath the one you are in, or does it refer to "root"?

./ refers the the directory you are currently in
../ refers to the parent directory

if you create a directory with nothing in it and you type the command

ls

you will find that ./ and ../ always exist. This is becuase every directory has to be able to refer to itselt and every directory (beside the root directory /) has a parent from which it was accessed.

-JAX