Guest bennett Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 I was just wondering, if Windows has the Program Files Directory what would be the Mandrake equivalent, because i think i have installed firefox in my Mandrake documents folder, and I am almost positive it doesn't go there, lol I have only just literally installed Mandrake 10.0 about an hour ago it took me about 30 mins just to get my Speedtouch 330 modem functioning. So i would be grateful if someone could explain, the basics of Mandrake and the Linux file structure. Remember I am a total n00b Bennett, 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nchancock Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Welcome to Linux! Anyway, if you installed the firefox binaries off the website (i.e. downloaded it and ran the installer), then it mattereth not where you put the files, because it will run from there. If you want to move them somewhere else, no problem, just copy the entire directory to a new location, update any shortcuts you may have created to the binary and voila, all moved. For example: My firefox is installed to /home/nate/Programs/firefox-1.0 This is just by preference, however, and I could copy the "firefox-1.0" directory wherever I wanted and it would still run. I would just have to update the shortcut I created to the "firefox" executable file on my panel. Thus, if the original command line in the shortcut properties was "/home/nate/Programs/firefox-1.0/firefox" and I moved the directory up one level, I would change the command line to read "/home/nate/firefox-1.0/firefox". As for the file system, it is fundamentally different from the Windows system that you may be used to. In Windows, for example, each physical drive has a letter assigned to it and the directory tree is assembled logically around these devices. Linux, on the other hand, has a directory tree and each drive/partition in incorporated into the tree at whatever point you choose. Granted there are some standards, but you can get around that with sym-links and the like. Thus, if you choose to put all your installed programs in a directory called "Program Files" under the /home/user directory (where user is your login id, also where you're taken when double-clicking My Home on the desktop) and run everything from there, no prob. Otherwise, most things get installed to /usr/bin when (for example) building from source or installing via urpmi. To me (a recent Windows convert) the linux directory structure makes more sence and grants a great deal of freedom to its users. Hope that helps, if not we can do more. Nate :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinynorman Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 If you chose to install Documentation, go to More Applications - Documentation - Mandrakelinux documentation in English, then choose the Command Line Manual: this has a lot of useful information, including the directory structure. If you don't have it installed, you can read it here. If it only took 30 mins to get your speedtouch working, you're already something of a guru... B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inflexion Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 (edited) ill second that one mate (H) took me about 2 hours to get mine working when i first used RH9! i like to install my programs in /usr/share/ so that everyone can see them if i want all users to see them. Its all about what you want not what the default is. this is from a pdf ive got and might help you as it did me for a while / root directory /opt where most 3rd party progs are kept /etc where most config files are kept /bin essential command binarys/(exe's) /sbin essential system bin /tmp tempory files /lib shared libarys and kernel modules /dev device nodes Edited March 1, 2005 by inflexion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamw Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 inflexion: /usr/share isn't a good idea, it's a system directory and really you should leave it alone and only let MDK RPMs touch it. Conventionally, you'd keep apps you only want your user to run in something like ~/local, single binaries you want the whole system to run in /usr/local/bin , and 'blocks' (like the entire Firefox installation, for e.g.) in /usr/local/share . The distinction between /usr and /usr/local is a very useful one to maintain (let the system use /usr, put stuff you build / download / make yourself in /usr/local). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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