Could some one be so kind to explain me...

[GNU/br0wni3]

... just how does linux manages installing stuff? i mean, in comparison to win9x.

I still dont get, for example.. lets say:

A typicall win9x installation routine is:

Get the .exe
run it.
follow instructions.
Reboot machine (Sometimes)
Access your freshly installed program via either the start button, your desktop, or some other way.
c'est tout.

In Linux????

Im confused with all the different extensions for programs.. .bin, .rpm, .apt ???

Could someone explain how does this work under linux.. or at least give me an URL for reading more about it?

thanks a lot...
br0wni3
:cool:

[X_console]

It depends on what distribution you're using. For Slackware, you have .tgz. These are installed with "installpkg file.tgz". For Debian, well... I'll let one of the Debian gurus explain that one. For RedHat, Mandrake and pretty much everything else, you have RPM. You install .rpms with "rpm -ivh file.rpm"

For every distribution, you can download and install .tar.gz files or .tar.bz2 files. These are source files. Meaning you have to compile them with your C compiler. It's not hard. First unpack it, then go to the directory it creates, and then read the README and INSTALL file.

The bottom line is, every decent package comes with documentation. Normally a README or an INSTALL file. Read them. They'll tell you how to install the file.

[compunuts]

As X had explained, the basic steps are the same as with package systems. Microsoft compiled the program in Binary form and give you as EXE file. They will ZIP it for easier transportation.

As far as Caldera Linux is concerned, it's basically the same.
I download RPM package called Foo.RPM
I open the folder of the downloaded package and double click it.
It will automatically unpack it to the respective foler.
I go there and double click it. The installation starts.
I have the icon in KDE pannel. It's like the M$ start bar.


So what's the difference?

Of course there are some other distros which will not that easy to do such stuff. Take Debian and Slackware for example. It expects you to know what commands to use and how to use the option switch. So if you are total newbie, go with easier distro which is kinda bloated a bit but when you are familiar with it, go for more advanced distro which will give you complete control over how your Linux got installed to your computer.

HTH

[Ig0r]

In Debian, there are several layers of installing.
The most basic, and most analogus to your example is using dpkg:

dpkg -i <package name>.deb

That installs the debian package, that's all there is to it.

Keeping track of where to get packages and all of their sometimes numerous dependencies is tough. So to make it simple, there's APT.
To install a package with apt, it's a simple matter of:

apt-get install <package name>

APT will then proced to find out where the package is, what other stuff it needs to function, download all of it, and run dpkg on each one in the correct order. Simplicity.

There are also several front ends to APT.
One is a console program, dselect, which I prefer for its speed and simplicity; but there's also others like gnome-apt, which is a gui frontend to apt.
If you want help with those, read the manpages.

[GNU/br0wni3]

Thanks a lot.. i really appreciate you taking your time to explain! :)

but i still do not get.. just where do the "Direct access" to the programs get created? like, linux has many dirs, (/etc,/home,/usr,/bin...) , whats the "Default" directory where the direct access you actually doubleclick/run from console for your program resides?

For example, all my newly insalled programs get added to my start menu in windows, or they make their own desktop shortcuts, or they're added to the Startup folder, where they autoexcecute every time the system loads up.

Whats the equivalent in linux to all of the above?


Oh, by the way: APT sounds SEXY! lol

i've heard bad comments about RPM's... looks like APT is the ****. LOL!

thanks a lot :D
br0wni3

[ 17 February 2001: Message edited by: br0wni3 ]

[X_console]

In linux most programs you download and install are put in your /usr/local or /usr/local/share As for whether it will create icons or not, that depends on the program. For instance i you dowmload a program that is mainly command line based, then it may not come wth an icon.