> Hi, I have just installed Linux for the first time (Red Hat 7.2 with
> Gnome).
> I am still getting used to the new file system and structure what with
> all the usr/bin, /usr/local/bin and /usr/share/bin and all that.
> When I download programs (case in point; Netscape Navigator 6.2),
> where *should* I install it? I put the executable in
> /usr/share/netscape/netscape but I don't know where I should have put
> it. Now I want to install Java 1.4 SDK but again I am not sure where
> I want to install it to. I read that by default it will go to
> /usr/bin/jdk1.4/ or somewhere similar. Is this acceptable or should I
> try to get the executables (java.exe, javac.exe etc) in /usr/bin/ so
> they can be run from anywhere.
> I like my filesystem to be nice and organised so I would appreciate
> some pointers, thanks!
> Sam
> --
> Samiad
> -------------------------
> "Never put jam on a magnet. Never put your granny into a bag."
Until you get REALLY familiar with the file structure, use rpm packages. If
there is a choice of packages, use the ones optimized for RedHat.
RPM (RedHat Package Manager) is a system which installs your software into
the correct directories and sets up the sym links for you.
Once you are familiar with the system, and when you run into a package that
you want and it is in tar.gz form, then download it, extract it and read
the documentation that comes with it to find out where to move the files.
What I do is to set up a directory called "incoming" off my home directory
in my user area and download everything to that directory:
i.e. /home/chdove/incoming/
When I have to untar a package, it will then create a directory off the
incoming directory and I can then switch to it, run autoconfig if the
readme file says to do so or copy the files to wherever the readme or
install.txt files tell me. Just about every serious program has a set of
instructions either in the site from which you fetch it or the company's
site or in the package that you download.
"never spit to windward"
by