> i have got a simple question which however could take a little long to
> answer.this general question is :'how do i install a program or
application
> whatsoever in linux?'i have noticed that when i download a program or
> application for linux,it comes in the .tar.gz format,is that the source
code
> of the program?and then how do i install the program which this file
> contains?usually i am told to untar ,but how do i do that and then how
will
> the installation proceed,and after the installation how do i run the
> program?i would really appreciate it if anyone of you could answer in
detail
> these questions.thank you in advance.
I'm really new at this too but I have discovered a couple things. the .tar
and .tar.gz files are compressed archives. You can either use the KDE
Explorer under the Utlilies menu to go to that gz file and double-click to
unzip it OR if that doesn't work go to the console and type tar -xvf
<filename> (X for expand V for verbose and F for the filemname). I think
that works best with the straight .TAR files. The explorer worked great on
some of the other compressed files.
Once they are unzipped you're kinda on your own, I'm still feeling my way
around there. Right click on some of the files and Edit to read them (or
open and TXT files). One will generally tell you which file you must modify
to install. I've had a bear of a time trying to install the Java ICQ and it
STILL doesn't work... tho I did get it installed by typing /.install. The
"/." seems to be the secret of installing/running programs from the command
line. <shrug>
