Very Computer

Newbie:how to run files downloaded

i'm only familiar with DOS and is learning RootLinux as quick as
possible

what is rpm and compiling and sources?

also how to set-up app from my linux cd?

help!

Hello! Not the best guru around, but I'll try:

Quote:> Newbie:how to run files downloaded

That depends on the format of the files/programs you download. If it's a .gz
file, gunzip the file. If it's a .tar file, "tar xvf" the file. .bz2 files
are unpacked by using bunzip2 on the file. Information on these programs can
be found in the man pages, i.e "man tar", "man gunzip" and "man bunzip2"
(without the "" 's). After unpacking (if neccesary), you'll usually find a
file called INSTALL or README (usually uppercase). Type "less INSTALL" or
"less README" if you find those files, and all you should need to know
should be in there. If there is a program that is not working, even though
you're standing in the same subdirectory as the file, try typing ./filename.
This tells Linux to look in the current folder.

Quote:> what is rpm and compiling and sources?

RPM's are RedHat's way of packaging software. From the shell you generally
type "rpm -i filename.rpm" and you're finished. If you're running X-windows,
you may or may not have a rpm-program installed. Check the links on the
desktop and the Programs Menu. KDE's RPM program shows you all info about a
RPM just by clicking on it, other programs you have to choose the package,
then push a "Query" button to get info.

Quote:> also how to set-up app from my linux cd?

Don't know what Linux distribution you're running, but I can at least help
you mount the CD if you have problems doing that:
mount /mnt/cdrom does the trick. Now you can look around for rpm's or
INSTALL/README files.

Kent R. Nilsen

On Wed, 21 Jul 1999 22:38:54 +0800 in comp.os.linux.setup, Hor Jiun

wisdom:

Quote:>Newbie:how to run files downloaded

>i'm only familiar with DOS and is learning RootLinux as quick as
>possible

Is RootLinux a distribution?

Quote:>what is rpm and compiling and sources?

RPM is the RedHat Package Management  system, it's a format for
distributing programs and probably the easiest way to install them as
long as you have RPM installed. For more info, try running "man rpm"
from a console. Fro the most part though, if you download an rpm file,
you install it by running "rpm -Uvh packagename.rpm"

Compiling sources is the most basic method of installing programs in
linux/unix. You'll usually have to do this if the program you've
downloaded is a tar.gz file. You'd most likely have to do something
like "gunzip file.tar.gz", then run  "tar xvf file.tar". Most of the
time, when you untar the file, it will create a new sub-directory of
the one that you're currently in, and the sub will most likely be
named the same as the file without the extension, in this case it
would be "file". So then you'd cd to that sub.

To install it, you would then run "./configure", wait for that to
finish, then run "make", wait for that to finish, then run "make
install", and once that's done you should be able to run the program.
For example, if you were installing KVirc this way, you would then run
it by typing "KVirc" and hitting enter. Most programs also stick an
INSTALL and/or README file into the their directory after you untar
them, so you might want to read that as well.

Quote:>also how to set-up app from my linux cd?

Depends on what distribution you have. If it's RedHat, then you would
mount the CD (mount /dev/cdrom), cd to it (usually cd /mnt/cdrom),
then cd to RedHat/RPMS and use the rpm command to install the files.

--
"The night started off like any other, but this night was different. It was
the night... The Night Of The Cow!!!" -Bruce McCulloch, Kids In The Hall

Big time tip for newbies... Hop on over to
http://www.solinique.com.my/index1.html and click on Linux on the left.
Look at the 'Tips & Tricks' section. It contains a lot of valuable
stuffs for newbies and experience users alike.

Cheers.
--
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Alex Lim Chee Onn
VCN Technology Sendirian Berhad (http://www.vcn.com.my)
Future Trend Computer Services (http://www.ftrend.com.my)
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