Installing apps/drivers - questions there about.

[RandomGoon]

Okay, I've been trolling/lurking these forums for a while now and haven't as of yet grasped something basic. I blame windoze and all its installers/wizards for this mostly. How, in the linux world, does one install applications or updated drivers? I don't need it down to the nitty gritty, just a macroscopic view'd be nice. Is it just a matter of unpacking a tarball, moving some files, and updating some configuration files? Has it been that bleedingly obvious? It's sad it's taken me this long to ask but I've not seen anything quite like it asked in the past.

'Goon

[malaire]

Okay, I've been trolling/lurking these forums for a while now and haven't as of yet grasped something basic. I blame windoze and all its installers/wizards for this mostly. How, in the linux world, does one install applications or updated drivers? I don't need it down to the nitty gritty, just a macroscopic view'd be nice. Is it just a matter of unpacking a tarball, moving some files, and updating some configuration files? Has it been that bleedingly obvious? It's sad it's taken me this long to ask but I've not seen anything quite like it asked in the past.

'Goon

There are many different ways to install applications, depending on what "package management system" is used.
This topic is really big, and it might be better if I don't try to explain it too much.
Instead I'll give here two examples which works for me with Knoppix 4.0.2 CD.

Example 1. Installing "filelight" using the Debian-way.
1. Download filelight_0.6.4.1-1_i386.deb from http://packages.debian.org/stable/kde/filelight (click the "i386" link)
2. Open Konqueror, go to the directory where you saved that file, and press F4 to open Konsole at that directory.
3. Install the program with "sudo dpkg -i filelight_0.6.4.1-1_i386.deb" in the Konsole.
4. You can now start Filelight from KMenu->Utilities->Filelight

You can install many simple programs using this way. You can use http://www.debian.org/distrib/packages to search for packages.

Example 2. Installing "unrar-nonfree" using the Debian-way.
Problem: By default Knoppix 4.0.2 CD can't extract RAR-archives.
1a. Go to http://www.debian.org/distrib/packages and write "unrar" to first search-box and press Enter.
1b. You should get a single link "stable" which goes to http://packages.debian.org/stable/utils/unrar
1c. Download unrar_3.5.2-0.1_i386.deb from that page. (click the "i386" link)
2. Open Konqueror, go to the directory where you saved that file, and press F4 to open Konsole at that directory.
3. Install the program with "sudo dpkg -i unrar_3.5.2-0.1_i386.deb" in the Konsole.
4. You can now right-click on any RAR-archive and select Extract to extract the archive.

This simple method only works for quite simple programs. With larger programs, you can get an error which says that you need to install some other package(s) first, or that some package in Knoppix conflicts with the package you are trying to install. What to do in these cases, is not allways so simple...

If you want to learn more about these Debian-packages, you can go to http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/reference/reference.en.html and read section 2.2 (at least).

ps. Installing drivers might be a lot more difficult. I havn't tried that myself.

[RandomGoon]

So if what I see is correct, dpkg and apt-get are the equivalent to the Windows world of *.exe for automagic installers at least insofar as applications are concerned. Okay, I'm starting to get this stuff...

Tks for the clarification :)

'Goon

[malaire]

So if what I see is correct, dpkg and apt-get are the equivalent to the Windows world of *.exe for automagic installers at least insofar as applications are concerned. Okay, I'm starting to get this stuff...

Tks for the clarification :)

That's true only for Linuxes which use "Debian package management system" (like Knoppix).
e.g. RedHat-linux uses different "package management system" and different programs to install applications.
(But if you only use Knoppix, you don't need to know all the alternatives...)