Installing software on linux. . .

Cmc29

I'm a newbie to linux. I have tried a few different live discs and as i have heard ubuntu is the easiest for a starter i have installed that on my computer. My question is how do you install software? I have looked up about it on search engines and i found some links but they were all a bit hard to understand. What i gathered from it all is that i cannot use exe files. So i have to find the linux version of files. I'm using ubuntu so i have to look for versions of programs as deb files? Is this correct? Correct me if i am off the mark. I downloaded some deb files and now i don't know how to install them. I understand that its not the same as installing something on windows. If i get past this i'm sure i'll really get to like linux. Could someone explain to me in as plain english as possible which files do i download (when running ubuntu) and how do i install them. Any links would be great aswell. Thanks in advance

Ps. While searching about the topic i read that this is the biggest problem people new to linux have? Maybe this topic should get its own sticky??


EDIT: What i keep getting when trying to install programs is "Error: Wrong architecture 'i386'. Does anyone know what this means?

duffman85

There are a few different ways to install apps on Linux.
Generally the easiest is by using the package manager. This is because it will also install packages which the app that you want depends on. These other packages are called dependencies.

In Ubuntu,the package manager is called Synaptic.


1.Installing an app using a Package Manager
Click on the System Menu at the top of the screen,go to administration and click on Synaptic.Enter your password when it asks for it.

Ubuntu uses debian packages - these are the .deb files. Collections of packages are stored in repositories on Ubuntu's and on other servers. To install software from Synaptic you need a working internet connection.

To install a particular app/package,click on it to select it, right click and click mark for installation.You may be prompted to install additional packages that the app depends on, click the "Mark" button.

A little checkmark will appear beside the apps/packages.
Click the Apply button and the packages will be downloaded and installed automatically.
The new app should appear in the Applications Menu.


2.Installing an app using Debian package
If the app/package you want to install is not in the package manager, there may be a .deb file available. Check the website you download the .deb file from for any dependencies the app has. The installation will fail if the dependencies have not been installed first. Search in Synaptic for these packages(the dependencies).

To start the installation, double-click on the .deb file.Enter your pasword when prompted. A dialog box will popup with the details of the app.Click the install button.


3.Compiling the app's Source Code
This can be a bit scary for someone new to Linux as it involves using the command line and seeing the output from the compilation process. The commands for installing are usually straightforward enough but if it doesn't work you can get stuck wondering what to do next.

First of all, you download the source code from the app's website. Its usually a compressed archive with something like .tar.gz at the end of the filename.
Double click on the file and it will open in the Archive manager. Extract all the files & folders.

There's usually a README file in the folder(s) which tells you what commands to enter and what dependencies need to be installed before you start.

Before you can install from source code you need to install some packages. Go into synaptic and install the build-essential package - this will install everything(or almost everything) you need to compile the code.

Next select the Terminal from the applications Menu.
Change into the directory where the source code is using the cd command. If your source code is on your desktop and is in a folder called myapp, you type:

cd /home/myUserName/Desktop/myapp

(replacing myUserName with your actual username)

Press enter after every command you type in.

The next few commands are usually needed but check the README to see exactly what is required.

./configure

sudo make

sudo makes you a superuser with permission to execute a command.It may not always be required.

sudo make install

All going well your app should now be installed.


As an aside, if you want to install a app from source code and be able to remove it more easily,there is a tool called checkinstall which creates a .deb package from the source code.
A quick introduction to checkinstall is here.

The only thing that changes with checkinstall is the last command which becomes

sudo checkinstall -D make install

1 and 2 are your best bet for now, you can try compiling code when you're more comfortble with linux and the command line(Terminal).

The i386 error your getting means you downloaded the wrong .deb package for your computer's processor. If you have an AMD 64 processor you download the x64 version of the software.

Are there any apps in particular you're looking for?

stereo_steve

Just to add to what duffman said, you can also click on Applications and then add /remove. There aren't as many files in there as synaptic but I find it much more user friendly.

Many people get frustrated using Linux for the first time. Not because its hard or anything, merely because its different. If you have any questions post them up here. People will explain why its different and try to help you out!

Good luck

Khannie

Fair play duffman. Very decent response there.

mach1982

or open a shell and type

sudo apt-get insatll <name of package>

ie sudo apt-get insatll firefox