I am brand new to linux, and I know very little, except about as much as a 6 year old using windows. I need some help. I need to know first off, the installpkg command in root says that the package doesn't end in .tgz. How am I supposed to get a .tgz? Everything that I get ends in .tar.gz or just .tar. Please help me.

If you get a Slackware package in .tgz format, then you install it using installpkg.

If it is in .tar.gz, then that is an archive format containing the source code. In this case, you need to extract it and compile the source.
--Ian

If i'm reading your question correctly maybe this will help.

foo.tgz are built packages for Slackware.

foo.tar, foo.tar.gz, and foo.tar.bz2 are all files that have been compressed. Please note that since I think your trying to install some type of program I'm guessing that you are working with the source files that you will have to build in Slackware unless you find a built package.

One of the most helpfull sites for basic info on slackware is the slackware book project.

Here's a link: http://slackbook.org

Ok, I will look into the book. The compiling code, I am guessing that I run that in the console. I will try it and get back to you.

Ok, the package I am trying to install is a file ending in .tgz. But the detail says that is is a Gzipped Tar Archive. So Do I first need to extract them?

Ok, i have been doing some research, and I found out how to unzip the .tar.gz file. That is fine. Once I get it unzipped, how am I supposed to install it. the install file says to type make in the terminal. But the terminal says
***No targets specified and no makefile found. STOP.
I think this is a whole new question, but please try to help.

you run make in the directory containing a makefile.

Ok. Usually you need to run configure script before running make.
In terminal it is done like that ./configure, where ./ - starts to execute the program.
Not all programs are executable, which should be executable. You can change it by typing chmod +x program_name. Now you can run ./program_name.
To get a list of all the files in the directory and their permissions:
ls -al

Another great info source http://www.slackbasics.org

I have been reading all documentation I can get on slackware. I have but a few questions now. When I was doing everything before I was in the x window system. Were you all talking about installing the programs out of X?? I am going to install 12 and fiddle with some stuff, then I will post the other questions if I can't figure them out.

They weren't talking about console as out of X, but inside any terminal, be it on "console" or a terminal inside X.
This link http://slackbook.org/html/package-ma...EMENT-OVERVIEW maybe give you a better perspective of what to expect when you think a file is a slackware package, I may want to add you should find a file called slack-desc inside the install/ directory.
Slackware packages are actually a bunch of files, tarred and gzipped, but they follow the structure explained below, and that's what "make" them packages.
So after you get a file that ends in .tgz, by running you should figure out if it's a package or just a tarred and gzipped file named with .tgz extention containing sources.
What they suggested you is fine, you may actually also want to read the README and/or INSTALL files included in 99% of sources you'll get.

Very nice. I think I'll suggest that link to other people new to Linux/Slackware in addition to the Slackbook.

infohungry, if you haven't already done so I highly recommend you at least skim through the slackbook and this slackbasics book. When I first learned Slackware I actually printed out the book and stuck it in a binder. I still have it filed with my other reference books.

Hi and welcome to Slackware !!

Please read through the given references/links and check out the links at http://wiki.linuxquestions.org/wiki/Slackware-Links

You will find that Slackware really rewards you for the research you put in.

Slackware has it's own format for packages, ending in .tgz, which may be installed with "installpkg".

Source code tends to be in a tar/gzipped format that will have "tar.gz"/"tar.bz2" extension.

Tar/gzip just means that the entire directories of source code are compressed into one file.

The usual way of compiling such programs is to extract the compressed archive (ending in tar.gz, tar.bz, tar.bz2,etc) then change directory to the extracted archive and run "./configure",
then "make" then "make install".

The problem here is that the system (i.e. Slackware) has no record of the changes just made and so "going back" (uninstalling) can be very difficult. This is why the Slackware package format (in fact all package managers) exist.

This in itself is quite a simple concept, i.e. All operations on the base system should be recorded, re-iterable and if possible reversible.

As (hopefully) you get more experienced with OS's and Linux you'll understand what is meant by "dependencies". This concept simply put means
that a program/bit of computer code relies on another program/bit of code to be present to work.

Great efforts have been made with other OS's to automate dependency checking whereas Slackware leaves this to the Installer. This paradigm has great benefits as ultimately the Administrator of a system should have control of that system.

Now I'm diversifying into the ethics of system responsibility and role boundaries.

To paraphrase - it's said that to know another distro is to know that distro, to know Slackware is to know Linux.

The views/concepts expressed here are not representative of Slackware rather my takings on the Slackware ethic.

Good luck and follow the links !!

It should be noted that some rogue developers package source code as '.tgz' instead of '.tar.gz' despite the fact that it is actually source code in a '.tar.gz' file format. I think they do it just to piss us Slackers off. So basically, don't assume that any tgz package you find on the internet is a Slackware package -- you should untar it and check for yourself (unless you trust it 100%). Installing source code as a Slackware package could be potentially damaging to your system if the package is poorly created (using folder names like 'bin', 'usr', 'etc', etc. in the root directory of the package with weird permissions).

If you intend on compiling a program from source code always check the docmentation inside the sourcecode package once you have unpacked it.

The README file and/or INSTALL text files can be opened in any editor and will provide information on the software, how to compile it, etc.