LinuxQuestions.org
Visit Jeremy's Blog.
Go Back   LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Newbie
User Name
Password
Linux - Newbie This Linux forum is for members that are new to Linux.
Just starting out and have a question? If it is not in the man pages or the how-to's this is the place!

Notices


Reply
  Search this Thread
Old 12-13-2009, 06:51 PM   #46
brianL
LQ 5k Club
 
Registered: Jan 2006
Location: Oldham, Lancs, England
Distribution: Slackware64 15; SlackwareARM-current (aarch64); Debian 12
Posts: 8,311
Blog Entries: 61

Rep: Reputation: Disabled

Lorax, I thought you had KDE, according to your profile.
 
Old 12-13-2009, 06:54 PM   #47
evo2
LQ Guru
 
Registered: Jan 2009
Location: Japan
Distribution: Mostly Debian and CentOS
Posts: 6,726

Rep: Reputation: 1706Reputation: 1706Reputation: 1706Reputation: 1706Reputation: 1706Reputation: 1706Reputation: 1706Reputation: 1706Reputation: 1706Reputation: 1706Reputation: 1706
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quakeboy02 View Post
It's not. A .deb file is just a collection of files; much like a tar file. You'd need to setup gnome or kde to run something like "gksu dpkg -i $1.deb" before a GUI could automatically install it. Given that normal users aren't supposed to be installing packages (other than with sudo), as well as that you should normally use apt (apt-get, synaptic, etc) to install packages from a repository, there's little reason to setup the GUI to install a .deb.
Except that windows converts seem to think that "clicking on things" is the generic way of interacting with their computer.

The reason why I often put "clicking on" in inverted comas is because the really is no such thing: it is a construct of what ever the file manager/desktop environment/window manager wants it to be. I assume that this may involve reading the mime type of the file, and then running what ever the mailcap says it should. Or perhaps different file managers have their own databases telling them what to do with different files. Since, (as you alluded to) deb files are just ar archives, it would not surprise me if the file manager tried to pass off the deb file to some gui front end to ar... perhaps that is what it was doing.

Anyway thanks for letting me know that file managers are usually not set up to do anything special with deb files: that info will help me, the next time someone is confused about why "clicking on a deb file does not work".

Cheers,

Evo2.
 
Old 12-13-2009, 06:58 PM   #48
craigevil
Senior Member
 
Registered: Apr 2005
Location: OZ
Distribution: Debian Sid/RPIOS
Posts: 4,905
Blog Entries: 29

Rep: Reputation: 537Reputation: 537Reputation: 537Reputation: 537Reputation: 537Reputation: 537
install_flash_player_10_linux.deb is that the .deb from Adobe's website? if so good luck with that since it is a package for Ubuntu and NOT Debian.

http://wiki.debian.org/FlashPlayer

Five years of running Debian and the only 2 packages I have had to download from a website were Opera and Skype.
 
Old 12-13-2009, 07:07 PM   #49
brianL
LQ 5k Club
 
Registered: Jan 2006
Location: Oldham, Lancs, England
Distribution: Slackware64 15; SlackwareARM-current (aarch64); Debian 12
Posts: 8,311
Blog Entries: 61

Rep: Reputation: Disabled
I got install_flash_player_10_linux.tar.gz, and moved libflashplayer.so to /usr/lib/iceweasel/plugins. I was thinking like a Slacker when I did it, but it works.
 
Old 12-13-2009, 07:09 PM   #50
evo2
LQ Guru
 
Registered: Jan 2009
Location: Japan
Distribution: Mostly Debian and CentOS
Posts: 6,726

Rep: Reputation: 1706Reputation: 1706Reputation: 1706Reputation: 1706Reputation: 1706Reputation: 1706Reputation: 1706Reputation: 1706Reputation: 1706Reputation: 1706Reputation: 1706
Quote:
Originally Posted by craigevil View Post
install_flash_player_10_linux.deb is that the .deb from Adobe's website? if so good luck with that since it is a package for Ubuntu and NOT Debian.
Pretty sure it is statically linked binary so should not be a problem.

Although I do agree that if you someone does want nonfree flash the instructions on the wiki are a better option; but the point of this thread was actually about directories and paths.

Quote:
Five years of running Debian and the only 2 packages I have had to download from a website were Opera and Skype.
You're a lucky man :-)

Cheers,

Evo2.
 
Old 12-14-2009, 12:52 AM   #51
Lorax
Member
 
Registered: Nov 2009
Posts: 215

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 32
Quote:
install_flash_player_10_linux.deb is that the .deb from Adobe's website? if so good luck with that since it is a package for Ubuntu and NOT Debian.
If it is a .deb, isn't it's construction that of Debian? After all, Ubuntu can be called a Glorified Debian, being built on it. Needless to say, it works just fine here.

Brian, I did have KDE. Don't ask... Reinstalled obviously, just haven't yet converted.

Let me hijack my own thread for a sec. Ignoring settings and preferences, does a conversion from Gnome to KDE (and/or the reverse) affect my saved files in any way?
Will I lose files on my desktop?
Will I lose files in any other directory (/), (/home), (/user) etc...?
I like my Firefox. Will I need to re-install it?
 
Old 12-14-2009, 12:57 AM   #52
Lorax
Member
 
Registered: Nov 2009
Posts: 215

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 32
Also, if I want to save back-ups of .deb or tarballz, etc, is it sufficient to move the icon (for example, the .deb icon) to CD or another partition, or is there more to it?

If the .deb is not clickable, does it still contain the files I need to install it on another system later?
 
Old 12-14-2009, 01:02 AM   #53
~sHyLoCk~
Senior Member
 
Registered: Jul 2008
Location: /dev/null
Posts: 1,173
Blog Entries: 12

Rep: Reputation: 129Reputation: 129
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lorax View Post
Also, if I want to save back-ups of .deb or tarballz, etc, is it sufficient to move the icon (for example, the .deb icon) to CD or another partition, or is there more to it?

If the .deb is not clickable, does it still contain the files I need to install it on another system later?
You need to backup you /var/cache/apt/archive/*

The packages are saved there, provided you did'nt remove them.
 
Old 12-14-2009, 01:18 AM   #54
Lorax
Member
 
Registered: Nov 2009
Posts: 215

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 32
Are files that I individually download from the www, ones with icons that Idownload to my desktop, also stored there ( /var/cache/apt/archive/* )?
 
Old 12-14-2009, 02:11 AM   #55
EricTRA
LQ Guru
 
Registered: May 2009
Location: Gibraltar, Gibraltar
Distribution: Fedora 20 with Awesome WM
Posts: 6,805
Blog Entries: 1

Rep: Reputation: 1297Reputation: 1297Reputation: 1297Reputation: 1297Reputation: 1297Reputation: 1297Reputation: 1297Reputation: 1297Reputation: 1297
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lorax View Post
Also, if I want to save back-ups of .deb or tarballz, etc, is it sufficient to move the icon (for example, the .deb icon) to CD or another partition, or is there more to it?

If the .deb is not clickable, does it still contain the files I need to install it on another system later?
Hey Lorax,

If you download debs and later on want to use them on the SAME operating system, then of course that's possible. You could move them to a partition/CD/USB, whatever and copy them over again to install. The fact of being not clickable has to do with the .deb begin an archive file. So most likely if you 'double click' it, then it will propose to or just open it with an archive manager that will only show you the contents. If by moving 'the icon' you mean the entire package and not a 'shortcut' to it, then yes, moving it to another medium is a form of having a 'backup' copy.

The 'dpkg' program of Debian knows what to do with it, so best practice to install a .deb is to open a terminal and (most likely as root) use
Code:
dpkg -i
to install it.

Be aware though if you always use the downloaded files from a 'old' backup that your system becomes 'outdated' pretty soon. Best practice is to just install from fresh every time, not only to get the latest version of the software you need/want, but also to acquire some more knowledge and understanding of Linux.

Kind regards,

Eric
 
1 members found this post helpful.
Old 12-14-2009, 02:18 AM   #56
EricTRA
LQ Guru
 
Registered: May 2009
Location: Gibraltar, Gibraltar
Distribution: Fedora 20 with Awesome WM
Posts: 6,805
Blog Entries: 1

Rep: Reputation: 1297Reputation: 1297Reputation: 1297Reputation: 1297Reputation: 1297Reputation: 1297Reputation: 1297Reputation: 1297Reputation: 1297
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lorax View Post
Are files that I individually download from the www, ones with icons that Idownload to my desktop, also stored there ( /var/cache/apt/archive/* )?
Hello Lorax,

What ~sHyLoCk~ is referring to is the cache where apt-get stores all the downloaded packages. If you back that up, then you have all packages that you installed using the apt-get program, ready to install again if needed. It does NOT contain the packages you download and install manually.

Those files that you download manually are stored in the location of your choice (or as indicated in your preferences of the program you use to download them, Firefox?).

Kind regards,

Eric
 
1 members found this post helpful.
Old 12-14-2009, 02:39 AM   #57
Lorax
Member
 
Registered: Nov 2009
Posts: 215

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 32
Yet again, Eric, well stated.
You are very keen at translating your Guru wisdom into dummy lingo for me :-D
Thanks EVERYBODY!

For the next newbie that reads this:
The moral of the story: Mind your Present Working Directory, respect you terminal (root or user), and get the dang file path right!!! Learn from my mistakes!

S O L V E D !
 
  


Reply


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off



Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Games as .debs yorapper Linux - Games 15 01-23-2010 06:00 AM
Seamonkey DEBs? newbiesforever Linux - General 4 08-28-2009 02:39 PM
RAR and UNRAR >3.51 freeware: debs for debian or deb http:// for sources.list? frenchn00b Debian 6 11-12-2008 02:21 AM
I can't install updates/use debs/or update synaptics 449 Linux - Software 2 01-20-2008 10:36 PM
install .debs torger Ubuntu 6 03-24-2006 08:23 PM

LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Newbie

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:33 AM.

Main Menu
Advertisement
My LQ
Write for LQ
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute content, let us know.
Main Menu
Syndicate
RSS1  Latest Threads
RSS1  LQ News
Twitter: @linuxquestions
Open Source Consulting | Domain Registration