How do i install a program with the extension .x86.run?? I have tried playing with it and linux forever, and maybe im that ignorant to linux, but i have not been able to figure it out. Can anyone help? Thanks in advance. PS. using Redhat 9

Type chmod +x filename to make it executable. Then, to run it just type ./filename when you're in the same directory as the file you want to execute.

hw

will try it...thanks for your quick response! you should receive a reward. perhaps a coffee...

Mmmmm. Coffee.

hw

Ok, got the program installed successfully. How the hell do i run it? I am in the directory where it is installed, etc. There is a .x86 executable file but when i try that, it says the file can't be found. and there is also a shell script file. I'm assuming i need to do something with either of those two to make the game run. If you need more info let me know.
Thanks in advance.

Yes, some more info would probably be needed.

What program is it you are installing? It is quite probable that the .run file (which I assume is the installer) created a directory structure, either in the directory from which the installer was run, or in some predetermined or user-set directory (did it ask where to install?).

You should be able to run the shell script by either doing the chmod +x on it (if it's not already executable) and then ./scriptname, or just type sh scriptname to execute it using the sh shell (in most cases this invokes the bash shell called with classic sh compatibility).

God I really really need to cut down on my use of parantheses.

hw

Just as a little addition to what I wrote above: Whenever you want to launch a program file not located in the any of the directories in the $PATH environment variable you can type the full path to the program or script to execute it, as long as the file is executable (there we have chmod +x again!).

To see what directories are in your $PATH you can type echo $PATH. The list is separated by colons (":"). Programs not provided by your distribution provider (Redhat, Debian, SuSE, whatever it may be) should be installed in /usr/local/, and in /usr/local/bin you can create symbolic links to the executables themselves if the need arises, or you could copy single-file programs and scripts to this directory. If you haven't installed any programs by yourself already this directory is probably empty when you start off.

For reference, here are some simple examples for executing files:

- Execute a file in your home directory, no matter where you are in the file system: ~/filename
- Find out which file would be launched when running a command: which programname (try which whoami or something)
- Launch etded, a shell script to start the Enemy Territory game server, if it's installed to /usr/local/games/enemy-territory and no matter where you are in the file system: /usr/local/games/enemy-territory/etded

If the last is the case, copy the etded script to /usr/local/bin and you can just type etded .

hw