Installing Tarball?
 

By the number of problems that arise from this subject you would think that some bright spark would come up with a easier method. I have followed all the recommendations from other users and I still cannot install the tarball. Perhaps someone would write down the actual command line that I as a newbie could follow.
My OS is Linux Ubuntu 8.04 (64), and this is the tar file that I want to install.
/home/gael33/Desktop/firefox-3.0.9.tar.bz2

Grateful for any help.

gael.

Step by step instructions, here. But are you sure you cannot install firefox 3.0.9 using the package manager? I have a Ubuntu 8.04 (64bit) and the firefox version is 3.0.9 which has been installed with the latest update.

try with this following url, search google for further idea
http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/install...3tarbz2-linux/

The issue with upgrading Firefox is no longer an issue ... but! the issue with installing Tarballs rumbles on. I have followed the instructions that have been recommended by users, and tried methods that I discovered when searching for answers, and I still cannot install a Tarball. Obviously I am doing something wrong. Regardless of what I try, I keep getting the same answer, "No such directory, or file."
Question; Does it make any difference that I download everything onto my desktop?
At first I thought the problem was me, but having looked around at all the queries regarding the installation of Tarballs I realize that this is a common problem as there are literally hundreds of (new, and not so new) users who are having difficulty with these installations.
Now I know that there are some really competent Linux users out there in the community ... wouldn't it be to everyones advantage to create a "How to" that really works and is easy to follow?
Listening to my friends chatting on the subject of Linux, the difficulty of these tasks is what puts people off moving to the Linux platform. Microsoft must rub their hands together in glee, knowing that their user friendly platform is what keeps people with them.
So come on you experts, put a page up on the boards and make Linux the most user friendliest Operating System out there ... please :)

The tarball you've downloaded (firefox-3.0.9.tar.bz2) does not contain the source code of firefox, but the directory with the binary executable of firefox and all the files it needs to run. So the problem is just to put the directory in some place and create the link to the firefox executable. It should not so difficult, if you have the proper permissions (root) to copy the directory in /opt (as suggested by the tutorial above).

Different is the problem of installing a program from source. In that case the tarball contains the C code and the utilities to compile and install the code. This is done usually by the following steps:
and there are a lot of tutorials on how to do that in linux. Most often you will find installation instructions inside the tarball itself (see the README and INSTALL files). But I repeat, the tarball you downloaded does not contain the source code so you have not to go through all the panic of a typical installation from source, since the firefox people did it for you.

Regarding the error "No such file or directory" it is just a matter of knowing what is your current directory and what are the correct paths of the files/directories you want to copy/move.

To install programs from source code in Ubuntu you need to first install the build-essential package. The check-install package is also recommended . See this:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/CompilingEasyHowTo
What program are you trying to install? You should first search the Ubuntu repos for the program you want. If it is not in the repos, then search for a .deb package for your program. Compiling from source should be your last resort.
http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/installingsoftware