New linux user

Christian Darrall

Christian Darrall

Active Member
im a new linux user and i need help,

i downloaded an alarm clock software off the internet, it came as a .gz, what is it and what do i do with it

also how do i install general programs,

How do i find out whats installed, where can i find it.

whats a RPM too, what do i do with this

my linux is SUSE 9.1 i think (what the CD says)
 
B

B-MAN

New Member
.gz is a compromized file.. like zip and rar. There should be a readme or install file in there with instructions. I think gunzip or something can open it.. or try tar -h to see if you can figure that out... it's been a while i think it was tar -xvjpf filename.gz or soemthing.

RPM is something from red hat that manages the packages. I don't know anything about it.

To install programs you usually need the archive unpacked to a folder and follow the intruction in the INSTALL or README file.
Usually it's
./configure (you can add options here.. read the install file!!)
make && make install

But thats from my gentoo experiance... i could be wrong.
Anyway just read the INTALL file.. or README.
 
Christian Darrall

Christian Darrall

Active Member
Usually it's
./configure (you can add options here.. read the install file!!)
Click to expand...
is this in the terminal, do i have to find the specific file path.

whenever there is an install file, i click on it and nothing happens.

whats the name for the uncompression tool on linux
 
amdy

amdy

New Member
installing linux

Christian Darrall said:
is this in the terminal, do i have to find the specific file path.

whenever there is an install file, i click on it and nothing happens.

whats the name for the uncompression tool on linux
Click to expand...

ok from my experiance installing linux(RH9).....is

if u want to install rpm file:
rpm -ivh filename.rpm
for unzip....
u can type
tar -xvjpf filename.gz

after u finished zip the file go to the location file u zipped and type:
make&&make install or
make modules&&make modulesinstall

or maybe some file is .tgz
for this case ithink u type:
gzip -xvjpf filename.tgz.

if u want more try www.linuxquestions.org
 
Last edited:
B

b3stbuddy

New Member
Just to add a little additional info to what amdy said:

There are 4 main types of install packages you will find for linux,

.sh (sh installer, .sh is the installer script ex. sh install.sh) This type of installer will usually prompt you for different answers about your install.

.gz (g zipped file, can unzip with gunzip command) this is a compressed file, can also unpackage with tar -xzvf file.gz

.tar (tar archive file, can unpackage with tar -xzvf as well, but I think only -xvf is required but I always use the long version anyway)

.rpm (Red Hat Package Manager, basically a compressed automated install file, running the command rpm -i will uncompress and install, rpm -uvh will upgrade.

Most of the time if the file is rpm, then it is a pre-compiled binary file (similar to win exe components)

If the file is .gz, or .tar usually it is the source program that contains the components required for you to compile the program on your machine. If so, after you unpack the item you might notice a makefile, and a configure script. But even if you don't see those it still may contain the source, look for .c files to be sure. When you run ./configure from the install directory the makefile is custom tailored to the software on your system and if things go correctly it will warn you if there will be a problem. After that run "make" which will use the makefile to compile the source code, then run "make install" which will place the files in their correct places. This is only a general overview some installs have different instructions. Always look for the INSTALL file in the install directory.

to find the details of a command use "man command" ex. man gunzip.

-
 
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