I am very new to unix and fedora.

I want to know what exactly this command do:

make install

thanks in advance

"make install" usually runs the makefile rules related to the install procedure. This will vary from program to program, so we can't tell you 'exactly' what it does, since you don't tell us what software you're talking about, where you got it, what version it is, or give any details.

RTFM !!!

please read the manual !!!

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Here's a good overview of the process of compiling software from sources:

http://www.tuxfiles.org/linuxhelp/softinstall.html

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moving from windows to linux, I am unable to understand the process of installing a software in linux. in windows, when we run an installation file, it asks where you wish to install the program, most probably in program files folder only. later it edits the registry. This is called installation in windows. What is 'installing a software' in linux exactly means. Suppose I downloaded a source code, configure it, and build the binary using make. Now it is just a binary, not a usable program yet. how is it going get 'installed' ? by make install ?

it means that you do one of a few things
you install a prebuilt *.rpm or *.deb
or
you build the software from the source code

THE SAME as on windows
you install a prebuilt *.exe
or you build the source code in VisualStudio

Fedora has a package manager. Find the program you want to install, and let the system install it for you.

I'd suggest going to the Fedora forum on this site. There is a sticky post on top, that indicates a repository you may want to add for media programs and codecs. These versions will be able to play formats such as MP3s and DVDs.

You should get software from the Fedora repository whenever possible, because it's been tested to work with your system.

If you do need to compile a program from source, the usual procedure is to use the commands

./configure — runs a script provided with the program that sets up the source to fit your computer, creating a "makefile"

make — compiles the source code and links it to libraries to make a working program, using the instructions in the makefile

make install — follows the instructions in the makefile to place each part in the correct place; unlike Windows, Linux puts the different parts of a program (executable, libraries, documents, etc) in different places.

If you install from source, it's a good idea to keep the makefile. Then, if you want to remove the program, "make uninstall" will do the job.

That is indeed one of the biggest differences between Windows and Linux from the standpoint of day-to-day usage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yC69Krqn2I

There's a nice video on Youtube about it. It's based on Kubuntu (Ubuntu with KDE instead of Gnome or Unity) so some of the terms might be slightly different, and it package managers he demonstrates are KPackage and apt-get, not Fedora's Add/Remove Software and yum.

However, it give a good overview of what using software repositories. Fedora implements similar concepts, but uses different programs to do so.

It does not address compiling from sources.

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