Right, so you’ve entered the world of Linux, and come to terms with the fact that most Windows software doesn’t work, at least not without a fight (for now, anyway: much love to the Wine project). Thinking you were smart, you googled for Linux software, and have come across an application that you would simply love to install! Unfortunately, the page provides you with a .tar.gz file, and a bunch of crap about typing make install into this weird DOS-like thing called the Terminal!
STOP. Don’t listen to them for a second! Before I start, here is a quick overview of software packaging:
In Microsoft Windows, program authors are expected to provide their own installers for their programs. These sometimes get messy, and all trust is put in the author to provide a nice uninstall program too, which uninstalls everything.
In Mac OSX, program authors convert their programs into .app files, which are similar to .zip files in that they contain all the useful program data. It is then hoped that the user copies this file into a sensible location (the Applications folder), but this is not forced, so sometimes programs end up in very odd places!
In Linux, there are many different distributions (brands), and most are not necessarily compatible. For this reason, program authors usually don’t bother making versions of their software for every different distribution, they just provide you with the source code and let you figure it out for yourself! (I know, aren’t they generous?)
Ubuntu is part of a family of Linux distributions that use a system called APT. Basically, APT is a really complicated database that keeps track of which programs you have installed, and some that are available to you to install. It also remembers where it has installed programs, in case you ever wish to uninstall them. Luckily for us, the nice people at Ubuntu (with help from others, of course), have added basically every Linux application available to this APT database!
To access the database, open up System ->Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager. Inside, you will find a massive list (about 25,000 on my system) of programs that you can install with the click of a button!
Try searching for the program you wanted to install.. I bet it is there!
To install, simply double-click on the application name, so that it turns green (or try clicking on the checkbox next to it), then press Apply. There is also a Reload button, which downloads the latest package list from the web.
Sometimes, the program you want to install will require you to install other packages alongside it. Go ahead and accept this- it’s not spyware, I promise! Basically this is because Linux (and more generally, all open-source) programmers like to share, so often a new program will require another program that someone else has written. These are known as dependencies.
If you can’t find your program, don’t worry. It’s probably a good idea to ask on the Ubuntu Forums before trying to compile (ie, type make) into a terminal. Quite often, if your program is very new, someone will have already made a package that is not yet in the official package list. Other times, your program is actually included in a different package, which is why you can’t find it!
Happy installing!
~ub
Tags: apt
