I'm looking at compiling Mplayer and the instructions I'm following keep using the string && in their descriptions. For example:

./configure --prefix=/usr &&
make &&
make install

comes up for the Installation of GLib. This is the same for instructions for other applications/libraries. Is this indicating that I should type in an appropriate directory/file name or something else?

thanks

&& = and

Which basically means that you should run the commands ./configure --prefix=/usr and make and make install. First run the ./configure command and when that is done, run make etc.

A bit more though

; would mean: and

Whereas:
&&
Means: Only complete the next step if this first steps completes successfully (or has an output of 1). It's very useful in compiling a bunch of steps that require the first ones to complete successfully, such as configure:
./configure --with-whatever &&
make

Because you don't want to run make unless you have everything configured properly.

Cool

MasterC, you indicate that the && are used in a single string entered on the command line that the computer is to interpret as a sequence of events that are to occur if only the previous one does, whereas Thereof makes me think that they are basically shorthand instructions to the user. If I am correct, which one of you is right?

thanks

When a proram executes successfully, it gives the value '0' to the os to show that it did. If it gives something else, there was an error.
'&&' is the logical AND. It works like this:
true && true = true
true && false = false
false && true = false
Let's say the 0 a program returns to the os is 'true', and anything else is 'false'. You have two programs, A and B:
A && B
If A is successful, A=true. If not, it is false. Say A failed. This would be the result:
false && true
Which means the operation overall failed. The computer is lazy, and doesn't even run program B, because it knows the result of 'false && true' is false no matter what B is.

Just to be direct - && is entered on the command line (or in the code) and is also a general instruction to the user in docs. They can type it exactly, as MasterC indicates, or type it in sequence as Thereof says (logically equivalent, but more steps for the user) - but it's intended as a single command string. So they're both right - but MasterC is righter.

Basically put: it means to do something then do something else when it has finished (i think :P)

e.g.

make && make install