Very important, about installing programs..
 

hi, how can i install programms in linux???
I know there is "./configure, make, make install" way. Is it the same on most distros (because in DSL i get "make" command not found!).

Other way is packages - it`s seems nice, but where i should look for installed programm? Where is shortcut?

Is there a way, like in windows, where i run one file (setup.exe) and everything goes. I get shortcut on Desktop and in Start Menu. And I know where to look for programm (if i don`t get any shortcut) - Programm Files.
Why linux isn`t so easy? Or is it?!

ps. sorry for my english!

DSL doesnt use make? are you using it as root, try Yes packages are nice, and they usually rely on historical standardised places to install, such as most programs go in /bin those intended to be run by root are in /sbin. You can use locate or find to find (ho ho) where it went. or try typing the name in a shell ie to see if it executes, i believe newish versions of KDE and GNOME add shortcuts when paclages are installed now.

It's not that Linux is harder, it makes more sense in a lot of ways, but when you're used to one system, changing to another is always going to be a bit of a challenge. I would suggest reading up on what the various directories do (check my sig), it'll become a lot clearer then.

It all depends on the program. Diferent programs are distributed in different forms, but most provide some form of packages or installer along with the source code.

I don't know much about DSL myself, or how it has it's package system set up, but I'd like to give you some friendly advice.

Don't try to compare Linux to Windows.

Yes, some things might be harder, but other things are going to be easier. But mostly whatever trouble you have will be because you just aren't familiar with how it's done yet. When you work with Linux you have to "switch gears", as it were, and try to understand that there are different ways to do things. Don't be afraid of the command line, for example. It's just typing, after all. The only secret is in knowing just what to type. You'll be surprised how liberating it can be once you know how to use it, compared to passive button-clicking.

And most important, don't give up! The frustration you're feeling now will disappear with time and experience.

Now, when it comes to installing programs on Linux, yes, there are different ways to do it. In fact, that's one of the ways distros are differentiated. Each will be built around a specific way to manage programs. But except for compiling the program yourself (make, etc...), it will usually come down to typing one or two lines into a terminal. One or two commands, and it should all be done for you. Even easier than a Windows installer. And if you're still worried, there are usually graphic front-ends for the terminally clueless.

Now, as I said, I don't know exactly how DSL does it, but whatever system it uses, it shouldn't be hard. Check out the DSL site and Wiki, and do some Google searches, and you'll be sure to find what you want to know. (That's another thing about Linux and it's users, they encourage learning how to do things yourself. Not that you shouldn't be afraid to ask questions though! :)).

And no matter what, good luck!

Just wanted to add a few tips to what have been said here:

If you're using a rpm based distro, just download a package with .rpm format, then install it with 'rpm -ivh packagename.rpm'; uninstall it with 'rpm -e packagename'.

If you're using a debian based distro (I think DSL is debian based), download a .deb package and type 'dpkg -i packagename.deb'. If you have an active internet connection try 'apt-get update' and 'apt-get install name_of_the_package_you_want_to_install'

If you have a .tar.gz package, then it's a source package; read the README and INSTALL files. In most of cases you must run 'tar -zxvf packagename.tar.gz' to uncompress it, then cd to the created directory and run './configure' 'make' 'make install' (as root).

In all the previous cases you might have dependency problems (packages, libraries that must be installed before you install other package), just check the output for what dependencies are missing, install them and try again.

There are other packages formats like .tgz in Slackware or sources with .tar.bz2 format (in this case you must uncompress the source with 'tar -xjvf packagename.tar.bz2); I'm just gving you examples of the most common formats and ways to install.

For further help try 'commandname --help', 'man commandname' or 'info commandname' (i.e. 'dpkg --help', 'man dpkg' 'info dpkg')

hi there manatwork,
There are several ways to install applications on your system.
The ./configure &&, make, make install way is one of them which is used when you compile a program from source.
As many previous LQ members have stated, most distributions come with their designated package management.

DSL is debian based which allows you to make use of .deb packages as well as its famous apt-get.

http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/packages.html has a great list of ready-to-go packages which you may want to take a look at

most installed programs are in either /bin or /sbin folders (sbin more for administrative tools)

so you could take a look at
/usr/bin (most applications that come with the distribution)
or
/usr/local/bin (where most 3rd party applications are installed at - commands that are usually not part of the distribution and mostly added by administrators)

you can always run programs from the CLI (command line) if you really need to get it up before trying to figure out how to "set shortcuts"

DSL comes with Fluxbox - fluxbox is a very minimalistic window manager that works very well (it's my favorite wm). In order to set a shortcut to your fluxbox menu you'll have to edit your fluxbox menu file

take a look at $HOME/.fluxbox/menu

You can edit it right from the CLI or by using a GUI editor - it's all up to you. I'm sure you'll figure out how to add up a shortcut item once you take a look at the actual menu file


There are .run files but they're not common for your everyday applications you may need. Like everyone said before, try to look for a package of the application you like to install and if there is none, then try to install it by source (although I personally prefer to install things from source, create a package so I can install or uninstall it very easily)

My question to you is why are you trying to use Linux in the first place. Trying to learn it? Trying to get away from Micro$oft?

If you're playing games most of the time or using applications that would require you to have Windows, you may even be better off staying with Windows. Running Windows is not bad if you have your reasons to run it. ;)

Don't worry about it. I've seen by far worse and as long as we all get the idea of your problem we can help! Good luck with your approach on this issue!

Yes, I want to try linux and see if I can do all thouse things, that I did in Windows. And if I can, then start using it!!! And I`m not interested in game playing!

I now installed Xubuntu!! DSL was fast, but toooo strange for me!
I dodn`t really get, what the difference between /bin and /usr/bin. Are thouse places like Programm Files folder in Windows or it is something alse? Anyway, in /bin and /usr/bin there are no folders with programms, just executable files.
For example: i want to make shortcut for Abiword. i look in /usr/bin, there are "AbiWord-2.4" executable file and "abiword" executable file, both open Abiword programm, which one is?? And how can i make that shortcut (if for some reason after installation i don`t get any shortcut in start menu?!

Next, i want to ask, did i get it right:
if i download source file, i can install it on most distros, but package can be installed only on that distro, which accepts that type of packages! And are thouse 2 ways of installation the same, i mean after installation i get the same working programm? Because, some time ago, i installed something from source and it take me 20 min, from package about 3 min??!!

thank you all!!

great! I like that attitude :P


yes /bin and /usr/bin are folders that contain executable files (programs/shell scripts) that you can run if you have the permissions to do so.
/usr/bin/abiword is actually symlinked to /usr/bin/AbiWord-2.4

you can easily tell by running

which should show you something like:

so in short: when you call up abiword it actually runs /usr/bin/AbiWord-2.4 - so you can run either one of them which in the end call up the exact same application


Yes, you can get everything from source for any distribution. However packages are mainly there because they allow you to easily update, remove or install packages rather than just blindly installing things by source and if something goes wrong or you need to remove that application again because you, for example, didn't like it, you would have a hard time because you wouldn't know where all the files went. ---> packages keep it all in a package with logs that allow you to easily manage whatever you install on your system

Installing things by packages usually goes much faster because it's all already compiled and it mainly just installs files to wherever they need to go. However, installing from source gives you more freedom as to how you want your specific application to work.

Just an example, when you do

you'll get a whole list of switches and options that you can consider when compiling - you can't really do that with packages because they're all "ready-to-go" and all "pre-set".

Hope this makes things clearer for you.

I usually do:
Which usually gives you a long list with commands.
Than do (fill in the command):
To find out where the binary is on your disk.
Also try this for some more info: http://www.linuxcommand.org

@manatwork: please don't title your topics with such things as 'important' or 'urgent', Thanks!

on DSL, the package manager is myDSL.
Very straightforward. Just click on it and select an application to install (no dependency check though.
On Xubuntu, apt-get and synaptic, the front-end.

In linux, the applications are centralized in application databases, which make search for them much easier. Instead of looking for winzip and ACDSee on the internet, going to their website and downloading after registering and installing with the setup wizard (where you enter your registration key), on linux, you go to the application database manager, enter the name of an application and click install.
Another difference is the dependency feature. In windows, when you download a program, it expects to have the windows base and perhaps some additional components (like directX). When the program need directX, it tells you to go download and install it before running, or it provides it itself. Many programs use the same components and some dlls are installed many times in your computer. In linux, the libraries are installed once. When you install a program, it downloads and installs all the missing dependencies for himself and for future applications that may need it.

WHAT IS WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just installed Mandrive 2006. KDE on my laptop is very slow, so i want to install Xfce. To install Xfce, i first need to install Gtk+. I downloaded Gtk+ 2.8.8 source, then in konsole, after "./configure" i get:
configure: error: no acceptable C compiler found in $PATH
after "make" i get:
make: command not found

What is it??? I installed 3 disks, Mandrive is big distro and it don`t have that "make" command????? Or what i did wrong?! Why it`s so complicated??!
I just want to install Xfce, because KDE is very slooooooooooow!

Do it as root.
I believe only root can use the make comand in Mandriva.

Do as Agrouf told you, or you can also download the XFCE .rpm pckage from here and install it as root with rpm -ivh xfce-XXX.rpm. Just make sure you download the package for your distro and architecture. :)