Im a total linux n00b, ive just started on slackware 9.1 recently (decided to jump in the deep pool), i managed to install it fine, but i dont know how to install programs yet!!!! could someone help me here!

it all depends on what type of programs you are installing. if you are installing an RPM program,then you need to open a console and type the following the command

rpm -ivh packagename.rpm, where package name is the name of the program

if you are installing source programs such as .tar.gz and tar.bz2, then you need to type the following commands

tar xvzf packagename.tar.gz
./configure
make
su
type your password
make install

tar xvjf packagename.tar.bz2
./configure
make
su
password
make install

good luck

as a very simple case, if you want to install something from source code,
say someprogram.tar.gz
you would just

tar -xvf someprogram.tar.gz

to extract the files, then cd to the directory they're in and type

./configure
make
make install

you probably want to run ./configure as root

but of course always read the documentation

hmm thats confusing enough, but i guess ill get used to it! erm also would it be the same if i wanted to install drivers?

With slackware you can also use an excellent tool call installpkg. If you download a file that ends in .tar.gz, all you need to do is issue the command installpkg /path/to/*.tar.gz, and the installpkg will hook you up. The folks above me were both right, but .rpm isn't used for slack (unless you use a program to convert .rpm to .tar.gz), and I find installpkg simpler than going through an manually building from source.

Peace,
JimBass

In the Linux universe, software programs are "packages", and installing software is "package management". Different distros use different package management schemes: apt-get (Debian), yum (RedHat *.rpm files), yast (Suse *.rpm files), urpmi (Mandrake *.rpm files), emerge (Gentoo), pacman (Arch)... Slackware uses a minimalist package management toolset, quarterbacked by the pkgtool utility; see the chapter on package management from the Slackware Manual. Also, see the "Simply Linux" book, included below in my .sig.

In general, if you want a stable system, then only install official packages from your original installation CDs or from a Slackware mirror (my favourite is http://www.slackware.at). You can find updated Slackware packages in the "slackware-current" tree at your favourite mirror site. You can also use a tool like slackpkg (on the Extras CD) or slapt-get to keep your system up-to-date with minimal effort.

If you are more daring, or if you are looking for an unofficial package, then you can find some more at http://www.linuxpackages.net. Beware: these are packages created by users, so there may be errors like library conflicts or dependency issues.

If you are even more daring, you can compile software from source. Slackware is probably the best distro out there for compiling from source. It's actually not that hard, but sometimes you will encounter frustrating errors with library conflicts, dependency issues, etc. There's even a LinuxQuestions tutorial on How to Compile from Source. Tip: if you use checkinstall (included on the Extras CD) instead of 'make install', you can actually create your own Slackware package for future use.

What distro do you think has the best + easiest package management?

Probably Ubuntu. Also look out for autopackages, they can install on any distro

Something debian based! I am currently using MEPIS 3.3

MEPIS has Synaptic which is a very easy package manager.

First off, it lists all the packages available for download.

Then, when you select one to download, it checks for dependencies and automatically downloads and installs them.

Of course, this is what Debian's apt-get does. The advantage with Synaptic is that it's a GUI so that new users don't have to use the command line.

I had Suse 9.1 for a bit but was completely befuddled. I tried lots of Suse RPMs, but they almost always had dependency conflicts. AFAIK, there wasn't any automatic resolution of these. (Unless I missed something, but it's too late now that I'm running MEPIS).

yeah, but isnt mephis a livecd?

It is until you install it!

Like I said, I had Suse installed. I tried MEPIS Live and it worked so well I just hit the install button. It actually installed into the same partition as Suse and kept my Home folders for me!

It's a great distro!

I even messed something up so that KDE wouldn't come up. Just booted to the console. So I put the MEPIS CD, booted Live and ran the repair utilities and ouila! back in business!