I used to install s/w using either apt or syanptic, is there other way like installing manually a software using commands

when googled , it told about "make"command
but cudnt understand it, can anybody help me out

Software packages come in different formats. You use apt and synaptic to install programs packaged into deb packages. Deb packages have a name ending in .deb. The instructions you looked at which contain make commands probably tell you how to compile programs from source. Source packages usually have a name ending in tar.gz.

You should approach this problem differently. Find a program that you want to install and then learn how to install whatever package format your new program is packaged as.

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Steve Stites

You used the 'unfinished' (at least it was last time I looked) apt, but don't know about apt-get?

These are both command line tools, so I am unclear what was wrong with apt, so I have no idea whether apt-get has the same thing wrong with it, as far as you are concerned, but you should at least read the friendly manpage. And, if that fails, the Debian manual.

Hint: When you post something like this, tell us specifically what you do not understand.
In this case you could have meant that you did not understand some detail of "make" or that you did not understand how it is used.

"make" is part of the process of compiling an application from source code. This is almost never necessary anymore, but--when it is--the package will typically come with information on how to compile it.

Yea , i understood what i need, i cudnt figure out make , that was my prblm , nw got it.. Thanks for everyone who gave me so much of info