Program Files = ?

[Dark Ninja]

I've been a long time Windows user, and there is one thing I've enjoyed about Windows - program install very nicely to the Program Files folder. They're all in one spot.

What I'm wondering is - Does Linux have it's own 'Program Files' type folder? If so, what is it, and how would I setup an installation so it shows up there?


- Dark Ninja
http://www.teamvirus.net/

[Tyr-7BE]

Depends on what distro you run. /usr is the place where some programs install, /usr/share is another, /usr/local is another, and some distros use something called /opt which doesn't show up a lot. It's just like some programs install to C:\ while others go for C:\Program Files, while the occasional bugger goes for C:\windows. Unfortunately, linux isn't quite as consistent. It depends largely on the distro as well. For example, under Debian the VAST majority of all software installed (via apt-get) is put under /usr/share.

[Jazzphone]

As Tyr said. Thats ture but i usually install in /usr/local/ and im using Mandrake 8. That seems to work well. :-)

[Dark Ninja]

How would I choose where I wish to stick the files? (I'm using Slackware 7.1, BTW - and it does seem that most files go to /usr/share).

Right now, I'm installing the programs through this method:

tar -xvzf filename.tar.gz
cd filename
./configure
make
make install

Where in that setup would I choose where the program is going to? Thanks for your help.


Dark Ninja
http://www.teamvirus.net/

[Jazzphone]

Well if your in X Windows all you have to do is drag the folder that you untared into /usr/local or /usr/share. Thats the easiest way. I dont know if slackware has the proggy called Archiver but if it dose its just like Winzip and you can undo the tar and gzip with ease and also select the dir you want to put it in. Its in mandrake and redhat so it could just be a red hat thing.

[pwrhouse]

For slackware when you get slackpacks they install in /usr/share but when you compile a program by yourself it is usually put in /usr/local/share.

[Dark Ninja]

SlackPacks? Can't say I've heard of them.

Jazzphone - You said I could just drag the untarred file into the /usr/share - I didn't know that could be done. Doesn't the program still need to be compiled?

Dark Ninja
http://www.teamvirus.net/

[bdg1983]

Doesn't the program still need to be compiled?


Yes they do.

You should be able to specify where the program is installed when you issue the 'make install'. Check the options for make and also the package readme's for this.