howdy~

i have some questions on install softwares and i'd much much appreciate if anyone would help.

1. I have download a package which extension is .tgz, would could i install it ?

2. what about the installation folder if i have a rpm package and install it ? is that automatically copy files into somewhat specified folder or just the folder execute the installation ?

3. I noticed some package informs it was for RedHat9, is that to say i cant install them on RedHat8 or lower version ? Must I upgrade the platform before installing that package ?

one millioin thanx for the reply~

1. tar -xzvf <package>
2. Rpm is meant to take care of all the details of installation. You don't need to worry about where everything goes. But if you're curious type
rpm -qlp <package>
3. You should be able to find rpms for version 8, rather than upgrading to version 9 just for that package. Upgrading is easy enough but is a bigger job than getting the right version of your package.

John

thanx for the quick reply~

i'd like to try rpms since they seems to be convenient that much, aha~

btw, need i uninstall old version before i install the same software with higher verison ?

Yeah, rpms seem to be more re-assuring for people who are beginning their own package/system management. I'd encourage you to (eventually) read up on and experiment with tar and gzip though. Using tarballs opens up a lot more for you as there are plenty of packages you won't find rpms for, and they're really not that hard. But there's nothing wrong with rpms for now.

No, you don't need to remove the older version. If you use "rpm -Uvh <package>" it will do an upgrade.

John

hey thanx man, i'd like to get some rpms and try my first step on installation, thanx again for the direction~