Newbie Question... How to install tar.gz file

[masscad]

Can someone please tell me how to install a tar.gz file. I understand how to install rpm files. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[:david:]

this is what is known as a tar ball. generally it's the source, which you must build.
tar -zxvf file.tar.gz
is how you unpack the file. the output will show you, the v means verbose, what it's doing. cd into the directory just created and read the README and INSTALL files.
typically you will have to:
./configure
make
su
make install

you need to be root for the make install (which just installs the files). in reality, you don't always have to install system wide, if it's strictly a user application. simply ./configure --prefix=/home/username/bin
and you will set the install path to username's home bin directory (which can be added to your path via your .bash_profile).

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david@us.aduva.com
http://www.aduva.com

[RobbieA1]

The way I go about it is to first use gzip -d filename.tar.gz which gunzips the file to filename.tar then you use tar -xvf filename.tar I find this method works better then tar -xzvf. Just to let you know I use Red Hat 6.1 if you use another distro this may not work, I am not sure.

[wmHardRock]

Originally posted by RobbieA1:
The way I go about it is to first use gzip -d filename.tar.gz which gunzips the file to filename.tar then you use tar -xvf filename.tar I find this method works better then tar -xzvf. Just to let you know I use Red Hat 6.1 if you use another distro this may not work, I am not sure.

Hum, tar -zxvf file.tar.gz is the same as gunzip file.tar.gz ; tar -xvf file.gz

And it will work on any distro that has gunzip and tar

[Gotenks]

Or, To top it off you could


gunzip -cd filename.tar.gz | tar -xvf -


http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/biggrin.gif

[This message has been edited by Gotenks (edited 31 January 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Gotenks (edited 31 January 2001).]

[Whipping Boy]

If you want to, you can safely leave out the -v option. All it does is display a list of all the files in the tar archive to your screen (which scrolls up too fast to read anyway unless you redirect it to a file). Plus, leaving out the -v option makes it run MUCH faster. I've never understood why everyone always includes the -v option when they're explaining how to untar a file...

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Kurt Weber
Shell scripts? Shell scripts? We don't NEED no stinkin' shell scripts!
White, heterosexual, middle-class, and proud!
I've never understood why Bill Gates would name his company after his penis