can we install new software in linux like windows ?

[mkmkmk]

I can install linux,,,i know little bit of that..but my problem is i dont know how to install new third party softy in linux,,,,,

is there any linux os....in which we can install new softys just hitting setups....

[champ_rock]

what linux have u instralled?? if it is debian based then there are .deb files available.. just type in the commmadn dpkg -i /abc/abc/abc.deb (whatever ur location of the file is)

if it is red hat based then there are rpm's .. they are .rpm files .. (dont knwo the exact command though)

for that u can take a look at http://www.faqs.org/contrib/yal/page7faq.htm

[mehulved]

If you have a net connection, in debian based distros, you don't even have to go to rigorous routine of wizrards by clicking next, next, next. Just open up synaptic and select all the softwares you want. their dependancies will be selected on it's own by synaptic. Just press on apply, when done. And everything will be done for you.

Also, check out freespire, it's klik technology is a bit different and maybe it will appeal to you. But, no. of apps available with klik will be limited as most of those apps are paid AFAIK. See their site for more info.

[Pathik]

for rpms...
rpm -i name

[borg]

Installing software is a little difficult in Linux. There are about 4 different ways of doing it

1. Synaptic/Yumex, etc

This is the easiest way & try to use it as much as u can. Just open synaptic/yumex/equivalent & select the software & select install. This is the preferred method & u should use it whenever u can

2. Installing binaries
This is not recommended unless u have no other choice. To install an rpm u type in
rpm -ivh <filename>

for .deb , u type
dpkg -i <filename>

Pray that u don't get any depency errors. This method of installing software is hell & should be avoided by newbies.

3. Compiling from source

This is the third method. This type of installers are generally available in .tgz format. they need to be uncompressed first ( by rightclicking & clicking on extract or anything equivalent). Afterwards open the terminal & go into the folder where the extracted files are. then u need to get admininistrator priviledges ( by typing su or sudo). Afterwards type

./compile;make;make install;make clean

This will hopefully install the software if all goes well


4. Installing binary

These are special binaries & end with all sorts of extensions ranging from .run to .bin. For example, the installer for realplayer ends with a .bin extension. The installer for google earth ends with a .run extension. To install these kinds of files, first u need to make sure that u have execute permissions. To do that log in as root (using su or sudo) then type chmod +x <filename>

This will give u execute permissions. Afterwards type
./<filename>

This will initiate the installer

Hope the installing part is clear. It is not easy or pleasant, but what can we do. That is how it is for now. I will tell u about uninstalling also if u want to know it.

[aditya.shevade]

Thanks man! It helped a lot.

Aditya

PS where is the thanks button?

[mkmkmk]

Thanks...for nice reply

i have ubuntu..i will try this one by one...lets see.......

open source people r really active..thanks..explained me a lot nicely...........

[Pathik]

thx... kool man.. i didnt know some of them.. now for uninstallation also...

[aditya.shevade]

Yeah please tell us how to uninstall the applications.

Aditya

[JGuru]

You can do that using Mandriva Linux. Just double-click on the RPM package and that
software installation starts automatically!!. You can install other softwares using
rpmdrake (Mandriva Linux Package Manager). Insert the Mandriva 2006 DVD ,
list or search for the package to want to install , select it & click on 'Install'.
If it's a binary it , log in as Root ( su - ), check if it's a executable file( ls- l).
Otherwise , make it an executable one.
# chmod a+x <filename>
#./<filename>
This will start the installation process.
To uinstall a package in Debian based distros like Knoppix, Ubuntu.
Open Terminal Window and type:
Method - I:
-------------
$ sudo apt-get remove <package-name>

Method - II:
---------------
In Ubuntu , open Synaptic Package Manager, select the package you want to
uinstall , right-click select->'Mark for Complete Removal' click Apply.
This will uinstall the selected package.
Choose Method I or II , most people prefer Synaptic since it's GHI-based &
very easy to use.

[FatBeing]

Incidentally, with Ubuntu 6.06, .deb packages install with a double-click, too, thanks to GDebi.

[borg]

OK, here goes the uninstallation part. Uninstallation is even more messy than installation!

1. If u want to uninstall any software that was part of the distro, then it should be really easy. No brainer at all. Every distro has some form of add/remove software. For ex. in fedora core, u just goto fedora menu>>system>>add/remove & then uncheck whatever u want to remove & then click apply.

2. Same for programs installed by yumex/synaptic. Open the same, & select the programs u wanna remove & click apply. This thing should be really easy. Not much explantion required.

3. Uninstalling programs installed using rpms is a bit tricky. The format is
rpm -e <name> (u need root priveledges to do this). Now the interesting part is to know what u have to type in the place of <name>. For example if u installed a program called 'niceprogram' using an rpm named 'niceprogram-1.2.fc5.i386.rpm' . The trick is to know what to type after rpm -e , cause u can't simply type the rpm name again. It doesn't work that way. To know what to type, u need to type

rpm -qa | more

& then sort through the list until u find the program that u need to uninstall. You have to use the same name that was used in the list. If u don't want to sort through the entire list, u can use wildcard characters, for ex, in our case, we could use

rpm -qa n*

which would give us the list of all programs starting with letter 'n'

Similarly, for deb files, we would use dkpg --list to query & dpkg -r <name> to uninstall.

This is the way to uninstall programs installed using rpms & deb files. Atleast this is how I do it. If someone knows a better way to do it, please let us know.


4. Now for uninstalling programs installed using those special binary files (.bin, .run , etc)

Uninstalling these is a little interesting (atleast more entertaining than uninstalling rpms). First u need to find out where the program has been installed. U can do this by searching for it. Then navigate to that folder & generally u will have an uninstall script. Just open the terminal, use the su command & get root priveledges. Then type

./uninstall or
sh uninstall (or whatever else the script name maybe, instead of uninstall, u may have remove or somthing like that)

If none of the above techniques work, then simply find the folder that the program has been installed in & delete it.

This will do the job. Hope this guide helps.

[ashu888ashu888]

This is a gr8 thread for newbies (to linux) like me too. thanx guys for posting the details in a simple way..

Cheers n e-peace...

[borg]

I just uncovered something hidden away in Fedora Core. To install rpms, instead of typing
rpm -ihv <filename>, you can actually install packages simply by doubleclicking, just like in Mandriva, Ubuntu, etc. Why Fedora chose to hide it deep inside is something I can't understand. Anyways, to setup GUI installation of rpms, there is a tool called system-install-packages in your /usr/bin folder. You need to setup your system so that files ending with .rpm extension are handled by this package. You can do this by various methods. One of the ways could be to
1. Open control center in the fedora menu
2. In the left hand pane, expand KDE components & choose File Associations
3. Click on add button & in the type field, enter '*.rpm' (without the quotes), then click OK
4. In the new item that appears on the right, click on add within the application preference section, here type 'system-install-packages' (without quotes) & click OK.
5. Click on apply & close this window.

Congragulations, you are done!

Unfortunately, why this feature wasn't available by default is a question I would like answered.

[Ultimate Z Fighter]

Originally Posted by borg

3. Compiling from source

This is the third method. This type of installers are generally available in .tgz format. they need to be uncompressed first ( by rightclicking & clicking on extract or anything equivalent). Afterwards open the terminal & go into the folder where the extracted files are. then u need to get admininistrator priviledges ( by typing su or sudo). Afterwards type

./compile;make;make install;make clean

This will hopefully install the software if all goes well

the make command doesnt work for me (ubuntu 5.10) even on root privileges. It gives me the error:

bash : make : command not found

HELP

[mehulved]

Originally Posted by Ultimate Z Fighter

the make command doesnt work for me (ubuntu 5.10) even on root privileges. It gives me the error:

bash : make : command not found

HELP

cos make isn't installed.You will need to install it.

[harmax]

visit

http://zero-install.sourceforge.net/

http://autopackage.org

[Ultimate Z Fighter]

Originally Posted by tech_your_future

cos make isn't installed.You will need to install it.

How do I install it then?

[mehulved]

Download it from packages.ubuntu.com

[Ultimate Z Fighter]

Any specific links?

and Are you talking about this??
http://packages.ubuntu.com/breezy/devel/make

If so, It asks me to make install it install make

[Venom]

Not devel resources, stable ones.

[mehulved]

Originally Posted by Venom

Not devel resources, stable ones.

devel doesn't stand for development release here but rather for development tool. So, that's perfectly fine. Yes, Ultimate Z Fighter, that's the correct link.

[rohandhruva]

tech_your_future: Get your basics right. Downloading individual packages is not the way to install software on ubuntu / debian. Use apt.

Ultimate Z Fighter:

sudo aptitude install build-essential

That is the command to install all the required libraries, compilers, etc required to compile other programs.

[mehulved]

Originally Posted by rohandhruva

tech_your_future: Get your basics right. Downloading individual packages is not the way to install software on ubuntu / debian. Use apt.

My basics are right but your brain isn't. How in the world is someone going to use apt without a net connection. You aren't the only person in this whole world who know linux. We use and know it too, but keep track of what's going on around too. We just don't pop up with a half knowing solution. As they say half the knowlege is very dangerous. So, is your case.

[borg]

One thing I have to say people. this autppackage thing is simply awesome. I just got it & clearly, this is what Linux needed all along. I don't know what took so long. This should have been done ages ago.