Jump to content

how to install downloaded software


Guest makra
 Share

Recommended Posts

hi freaks,

 

i am new on mandrake linux, and in most cases at linux at all.

I can compile bloody-edge kernels, but there is no understandable

explanation aviable how to install new software, I downloaded as

*.tar.gz or as *.bin file.

 

Can anyone explain me how to install (for example)

program.bin, whereas program is the name of a downloaded file ?

 

Are there rules where to put the binaries and the runable program ?

 

makra

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Open up a terminal, go to the correct directory and try:

 

sh name.bin

 

or

 

./name.bin

 

Or at least thats how I get the UT installer to start. :)

 

As for .tar.gz files, well they are just archives (like .zip files). You can use them for just about anything. In the case of programs, they are usually used to store the source code. This means after de-compressing the file, you'll need to compile the app. Exactly how you do this varies, but theres normally a file called README or INSTALL to explain things.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Grmph...

 

Thanks for the quick replay.

I knew that the buisiness is tricky.

 

What makes sh ?

what makes make ?

 

In the special case, the program appeared as single

somwhat.bin. But when I get a program.tar.gz, then

I unpack it with

$/ tar -zxvf program.tar.gz.

It will unpack the files, included the *.conf and all that stuff.

Then I can use make ...

 

correct ?

 

I will stay long time to read cryptic man-pages and try to

change conf-files with the VI... :-)

 

makra

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Many times it is not that complicated to install software.

 

1. bin files

An example for this is java SDK, or OpenOffice.org. Basically all you have to do is to make that file executable by typing

chmod a+x <name of file.bin>

followed by

./<name of file.bin> (note the dot slash is important)

 

of course a

sh <name of file.bin>

works also.

 

Sometimes you may want to do this as root by using su command followed by superuser password, especially if you want the application to be accessible by everyone. (like openoffice or java sdk)

 

2. tarballs

The files are usually ends with tar.gz or .tgz. It's a bit trickier but many times, all you have to do are these commands:

tar xvfz <name of file.tar.gz> (uncompress the tarball)

cd <new directory created>

./configure (note the dot slash)

make (to compile the package)

At this point, you may want to su to root and enter your root password in order for the application to be accessible to everyone. After that type

make install

 

In some cases, tarballs ends with .tar.bz2 instead, for this, you may want to put the tarballs in separate directory then use these commands to uncompress it.

 

bzip2 -d <name of file.tar.bz2>

tar xvf <resulting file.tar>

then you can do the three step ./configure, make, make install routine

 

Anyway, always read the README or INSTALL notes that usually accompany the tarballs, sometimes there are some things that you need to install before you can compile the program. Other times, the installation is different (wine for example, it requires you just to unpack the files then type ./tools/wineinstall instead of the usual three steps)

 

Hope it helps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi DragonMage,

 

thanks for this easy and good explanation for this small prob.

 

I have already installed the mandrake 9.0 distribution - succesful.

This after trying debian and suse.

That systems where very difficult to understand, hardware driver

probs and so on.

And then the command-line and a freak (sysadmin pure). When I asked

something, he answerd: "too complicate - you will not want to know

how to do"

This guy was workin on debian 2.23.4 or so. Every two days a new

kernel.

 

So, this is my background. You may know why was hard to me to try

any kind of linux again.

 

But now it seems to be a bit easier, and the bash will not be the big

problem...

 

thanks a lot for all the fish... makra

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...