[newbie] Understanding Program Locations
Hello All. I've just installed system 7.2 yesterday. I'm completely new to linux, and this is my first shot at it. As A long time windows user, I am finding myself very confused by the way linux handles application storage. I would like it if someone could explain a few things to me. 1) There appear to be nothing like an .exe file for linux software, where is the program itself? For instance, if I go into the gimp directory, I see all it's support files, but no executable. However, if I Alt-F2 and type in "gimp", it runs just fine. Where is the program stored? 2) This is more specific I downloaded the latest Mozilla milestone, and would like to try it under linux. However, I cannot figure out how to install it. There appear to be no files that "run" when clicked on, even though i downloaded the version "with installer". Help? 3) System clock. Every time I reboot, my clock gets all screwed up. I reset it, and it's fine until I reboot again, but then it's off by a few hours. Ideas? Thanks alot in advance! I'm really liking KDE, but I need to know more about how software and the file system works before I can be happy with it. -C
Re: [newbie] Understanding Program Locations
hi carson, On Saturday 16 December 2000 2:25 pm, you wrote: Hello All. I've just installed system 7.2 yesterday. I'm completely new to linux, and this is my first shot at it. As A long time windows user, I am finding myself very confused by the way linux handles application storage. I would like it if someone could explain a few things to me. 1) There appear to be nothing like an .exe file for linux software, where is the program itself? For instance, if I go into the gimp directory, I see all it's support files, but no executable. However, if I Alt-F2 and type in "gimp", it runs just fine. Where is the program stored? an executable file in linux can be called anything, very often the name of the executable file is the same as that of the program without any extension, a lot (but by no means all)of program executables are stored in /bin, /sbin, /usr/bin and other directories that are named /.../bin bin standing for binary, i think, the reason typing gimp ran the prog is because the executable for gimp is in a directory which is in your path, ever do dos? as in path=?, however unlike dos most programs do not keep all their files in the one directory but instaed you might find the executable in /usr/bin/, the documents files in /usr/share/doc/.appname/, perhaps some configuration files will be /home/username/appname/, or for important progs in /etc/ or /etc/appname/, this is not an exclusive list and i don't pretend to really understand the philosophy behind this system but after a while it no longer seemed strange to me! essentialy configuration files are in one place, executables in another, and documents in another, and of course shared library files that more than program nneed to run are kept in another place! 2) This is more specific I downloaded the latest Mozilla milestone, and would like to try it under linux. However, I cannot figure out how to install it. There appear to be no files that "run" when clicked on, even though i downloaded the version "with installer". Help? haven't installed mozilla so can't help, it's possible that you need to run one of the files from a command line, surely there is a readme or some such file? 3) System clock. Every time I reboot, my clock gets all screwed up. I reset it, and it's fine until I reboot again, but then it's off by a few hours. Ideas? have you set your timezone? is your cmos clock set to gmt or local? bascule
Re: [[newbie] Understanding Program Locations]
This is lengthy but very educationall Begin: The directory structure is configured as so; ** I grabbed this from MaximumLinux magazine article by Woody Hughes snip /bin -User and system administration binaries(another word for executable files). /sbin -Systems Administration binaries run as root. /etc -Configuration information. /dev -Device files /lib - Shared libraries and kernel modules. /mnt -Temporary mounting points for hardware such as CD-ROMs, tape backups, Zip drives, etc. /opt -Optional add-on software directory /tmp -Stores temporary files generated by software packages. snip * This next article is from MaximumLinux magazine as well, but this article is by Bruce Byfield. His article tells you where all the configuration files are located for standard services installed on your computer. snip Automatic running of programs -/etc/crontab A system-wide scheduling for the automatic running of programs. Bootup -/etc/modules, /etc/conf.modules Processes and services started with your machine. Command Shell -/etc/bashrc, /home/[your home directory]/.bash* /etc/bashrc sets environment variables for all users, the files in your home directory are your personal settings. They include .bash_history, .bash+_logout, .bash_profile, and .bashrc. Desktops and Window Managers -/etc/X11/window-managers If you're using a graphical log-in, you may also need to configure it. E-Mail -/etc/postfix Directory with scripts and databases. FileSystems -/etc/fstab, /etc/mstab, /etc/automisc The partitions that are mounted when Linux starts. /etc/mstab lists all partitions that are currently mounted. FTP Access -/etc/ftp* Sets who can use ftp to access teh system remotely and how. Internet -/etc/ppp, /etc/inetd.conf Choose the folder use depending on your Internet connection. LILO -/etc/lilo.conf Settings for making multiple operating systems or kernels available when you start your computer. Printing -/etc/printcap Defines printers and their settings. Web -/etc/httpd/conf Apache Web server conf files Samba -/etc/smbconf Configuration for Windows inter-operability System locks -/var/lock Locks for processes and programs Users, Groups, and Passwords -/etc/password, /etc/shadow, /etc/groups User names, passwords, and preferred command shell are listed in passwd. X-server -system -/etc/X11/XF86Config Hardware configurations for the X Window System, including settings for fonts, joysticks, keyboards, mice, video resolutions, refresh rates, and color depths. X-server -users -/home/[user account]/Xdefaults, Xresources, Xauthority, .xsession, .sintrc, gnome. Individual settings for each user snip * 1) Q. There appear to be nothing like an .exe file for linux software, where is the program itself? For instance, if I go into the gimp directory, I see all it's support files, but no executable. However, if I Alt-F2 and type in "gimp", it runs just fine. Where is the program stored? A. In linux there are only two types of files; binaries and files. Binary files are the linux equivalents of windows executable files. binaries are known by an "*" at the end of a file name such as "fgrep*" when you list the /bin directory. Directories are noted by a slash after the file name. ls /bin -an example of what binary files look like. ls /usr -an axample of what directory files look like. Q. 2) This is more specific I downloaded the latest Mozilla milestone, and would like to try it under linux. However, I cannot figure out how to install it. There appear to be no files that "run" when clicked on, even though i downloaded the version "with installer". Help? Let us install it onto your /home/[your user account]/ directory. ie /home/Carson/ 1 Make a new directory. mkdir mozilla It should look like this ie /home/Carson/mozilla 2 You should install the mozilla*.tar.gz file into the mozilla directory. 3 Uncompress it in the mozilla directory: gunzip -dc mozilla*.tar.gz | tar -xvf- That should create a new folder called mozilla-installer. ie /home/Carson/mozilla/mozilla-installer 4 Go to the mozilla-installer directory that was just created. cd mozilla-installer ie It should look like this when you do a "pwd". /home/Carson/mozilla/mozilla-installer/ 5 Execute the mozilla-installer binary by puttin a dot and a slash in front of the binary. ie ./mozilla-installer 6 The rest is point and click from this point onwards. Q. 3) System clock. Every time I reboot, my clock gets all screwed up. I reset it, and it's fine until I reboot again, but then it's off by a few hours. Ideas? A. Yes, I bet is off by the number of time zones you are away from the Greenwich Meridian line. Many have encountered this same glitch but I found the cure for it.(Lucky You)LOL. su -c timetool I changed the
Re: [Re: [[newbie] Understanding Program Locations]]
Altoine Barker [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: This is lengthy but very educationall Begin: The directory structure is configured as so; ** I grabbed this from MaximumLinux magazine article by Woody Hughes snip /bin -User and system administration binaries(another word for executable files). /sbin -Systems Administration binaries run as root. /etc -Configuration information. /dev -Device files /lib - Shared libraries and kernel modules. /mnt -Temporary mounting points for hardware such as CD-ROMs, tape backups, Zip drives, etc. /opt -Optional add-on software directory /tmp -Stores temporary files generated by software packages. snip * This next article is from MaximumLinux magazine as well, but this article is by Bruce Byfield. His article tells you where all the configuration files are located for standard services installed on your computer. snip Automatic running of programs -/etc/crontab A system-wide scheduling for the automatic running of programs. Bootup -/etc/modules, /etc/conf.modules Processes and services started with your machine. Command Shell -/etc/bashrc, /home/[your home directory]/.bash* /etc/bashrc sets environment variables for all users, the files in your home directory are your personal settings. They include .bash_history, .bash+_logout, .bash_profile, and .bashrc. Desktops and Window Managers -/etc/X11/window-managers If you're using a graphical log-in, you may also need to configure it. E-Mail -/etc/postfix Directory with scripts and databases. FileSystems -/etc/fstab, /etc/mstab, /etc/automisc The partitions that are mounted when Linux starts. /etc/mstab lists all partitions that are currently mounted. FTP Access -/etc/ftp* Sets who can use ftp to access teh system remotely and how. Internet -/etc/ppp, /etc/inetd.conf Choose the folder use depending on your Internet connection. LILO -/etc/lilo.conf Settings for making multiple operating systems or kernels available when you start your computer. Printing -/etc/printcap Defines printers and their settings. Web -/etc/httpd/conf Apache Web server conf files Samba -/etc/smbconf Configuration for Windows inter-operability System locks -/var/lock Locks for processes and programs Users, Groups, and Passwords -/etc/password, /etc/shadow, /etc/groups User names, passwords, and preferred command shell are listed in passwd. X-server -system -/etc/X11/XF86Config Hardware configurations for the X Window System, including settings for fonts, joysticks, keyboards, mice, video resolutions, refresh rates, and color depths. X-server -users -/home/[user account]/Xdefaults, Xresources, Xauthority, .xsession, .sintrc, gnome. Individual settings for each user snip * 1) Q. There appear to be nothing like an .exe file for linux software, where is the program itself? For instance, if I go into the gimp directory, I see all it's support files, but no executable. However, if I Alt-F2 and type in "gimp", it runs just fine. Where is the program stored? A. In linux there are only two types of files; binaries and files. Binary files are the linux equivalents of windows executable files. binaries are known by an "*" at the end of a file name such as "fgrep*" when you list the /bin directory. Directories are noted by a slash after the file name. ls /bin -an example of what binary files look like. ls /usr -an axample of what directory files look like. Q. 2) This is more specific I downloaded the latest Mozilla milestone, and would like to try it under linux. However, I cannot figure out how to install it. There appear to be no files that "run" when clicked on, even though i downloaded the version "with installer". Help? Let us install it onto your /home/[your user account]/ directory. ie /home/Carson/ 1 Make a new directory. mkdir mozilla It should look like this ie /home/Carson/mozilla 2 You should install the mozilla*.tar.gz file into the mozilla directory. 3 Uncompress it in the mozilla directory: gunzip -dc mozilla*.tar.gz | tar -xvf- That should create a new folder called mozilla-installer. ie /home/Carson/mozilla/mozilla-installer 4 Go to the mozilla-installer directory that was just created. cd mozilla-installer ie It should look like this when you do a "pwd". /home/Carson/mozilla/mozilla-installer/ 5 Execute the mozilla-installer binary by puttin a dot and a slash in front of the binary. ie ./mozilla-installer 6 The rest is point and click from this point onwards. Q. 3) System clock. Every time I reboot, my clock gets all screwed up. I reset it, and it's fine until I reboot again, but then it's off by a few hours. Ideas? A. Yes, I bet is off by the number of time zones you are away from the Greenwich Meridian line. Many have encountered this same glitch but I found the cure for it.(Lucky
Re: [newbie] Understanding Program Locations
On Saturday 16 December 2000 08:25 am, Carson Christian wrote: Hello All. I've just installed system 7.2 yesterday. I'm completely new to linux, and this is my first shot at it. As A long time windows user, I am finding myself very confused by the way linux handles application storage. I would like it if someone could explain a few things to me. The best way to become a Linux user is to expend some effort on your own part before asking for assistance. Actually most of this investigation should be done before you install Linux. Linux like many OS's has a steep learning curve. The more effort you put into educating yourself in the beginning, the shorter and less steep is the learning process. If you're like most of us it'll all seem like Chinese arithmetic at first. Just keep reading, you'll be surprised at how fast it'll start comin together. At this point tho, you might wanna try click'n on your main menu, Documentation | Mandrake Doc and read everything there. If you want further clarification, go thru the entire site at http://mandrakeuser.org/ There's many other sites on the Net that provide specific Linux help and docs, Google is prob'ly your best friend here. Then if you want to query the mailing list(s), first search the archives at http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/flists.php3 to see if your questions are common ones that've already been answered. You'll get quicker answers that way. -- Tom Brinkman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Galveston Bay
Re: [newbie] Understanding Program Locations
Thanks for those URLs. They R great. We need more info like this to be able to learn more about Linux Traumax - Original Message - From: "Tom Brinkman" [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, 17 December 2000 7:03 AM Subject: Re: [newbie] Understanding Program Locations On Saturday 16 December 2000 08:25 am, Carson Christian wrote: Hello All. I've just installed system 7.2 yesterday. I'm completely new to linux, and this is my first shot at it. As A long time windows user, I am finding myself very confused by the way linux handles application storage. I would like it if someone could explain a few things to me. The best way to become a Linux user is to expend some effort on your own part before asking for assistance. Actually most of this investigation should be done before you install Linux. Linux like many OS's has a steep learning curve. The more effort you put into educating yourself in the beginning, the shorter and less steep is the learning process. If you're like most of us it'll all seem like Chinese arithmetic at first. Just keep reading, you'll be surprised at how fast it'll start comin together. At this point tho, you might wanna try click'n on your main menu, Documentation | Mandrake Doc and read everything there. If you want further clarification, go thru the entire site at http://mandrakeuser.org/ There's many other sites on the Net that provide specific Linux help and docs, Google is prob'ly your best friend here. Then if you want to query the mailing list(s), first search the archives at http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/flists.php3 to see if your questions are common ones that've already been answered. You'll get quicker answers that way. -- Tom Brinkman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Galveston Bay
