[SOLVED] Using Apt/dpkg to install regular Linux program (not deb)

A while ago I discovered a procedure (I think I found it on the Ubuntu website) that allowed a user to install a program that was not a .deb file, but was a standard Linux program (from a .tar or .gz. file) using either dpkg or apt. I seem to have lost my docs relating to this, so I'm hoping someone knows how to do this and can explain it. Thanks.

Originally Posted by rl5 A while ago I discovered a procedure (I think I found it on the Ubuntu website) that allowed a user to install a program that was not a .deb file, but was a standard Linux program (from a .tar or .gz. file) using either dpkg or apt. I seem to have lost my docs relating to this, so I'm hoping someone knows how to do this and can explain it. Thanks.

You must mean the tar command, but you haven't given an example of the type of file you want to install. If you're meaning an rpm file you would use alien although not recommended.

Or perhaps you mean compiling from source and creating a .deb from it? If this is the case, then it's pretty easy with checkinstall.

BTW, just to clarify, you cannot install anything other than .debs with dpkg and apt.

Originally Posted by odiseo77 Or perhaps you mean compiling from source and creating a .deb from it? If this is the case, then it's pretty easy with checkinstall.

Yes, that was it.

I just did a web search for checkinstall and found the procedure. Thanks.

Can you post the link so that we can look at it?

Originally Posted by honeybadger Can you post the link so that we can look at it?

Ah, sorry.

I always hate it when someone posts that they solved the problem and then doesn't provide the solution!!

Here are a couple of links that I found:

http://wiki.debian.org/CheckInstall

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/CompilingEasyHowTo

The second link is of course to the Ubuntu site but the instructions obviously work with Debian.