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Our Blogs Apexing the Linux learning curve Installing applications on Linux
Our Blogs Apexing the Linux learning curve Installing applications on Linux | Installing applications on Linux |
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| by Hamish Taylor | |
| Monday, 23 June 2008 | |
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Page 3 of 3 The second method is slightly more complex. But not much!Aside: What's a "package"? An open source project might come out with a program, such as OpenOffice or ClamAV. Each distribution will "package" that program in a way that works for them (think of the exe or msi files for Windows. These are just "packages" for Windows). Sometimes the "packaging" process, which includes checking that it works properly can take a few days. The distribution maintainers may have to change small things to make it work optimally. This is why certain "packages" may take a little while to appear for installation in a specific distribution. An example of this is Firefox 3, which took a day or so to appear in Ubuntu. When installing via Add/Remove and Synaptic Package Manager we are installing the "packages" which the distribution has created for us. So, when you hear someone talking about installing a "package" it's really just another way of saying application. To use Synaptic, you'll need to put in your password as you are making a fundamental change to the system. Like Add/Remove, you can also search for a particular application or package. With Synaptic you can search using keywords. If you want a media player but don't know which one, you can just type in "media" or "video" or "music" to search for it. When you have decided which one you want, you simply tick the box and click on Apply. Then sit back for a few moments while it is downloaded and installed. If you want to install more than one, just tick it, then search again, ticking as you go. At the end when you install, all of the items you have ticked will install. Like Add/Remove, if it needs to download and install other files to work, then it looks after all of them for you. What's the difference between Method 1 and Method 2? Synaptic has a bit more functionality, in that you can use it to update the system too. Click on Reload, and you'll see a whole lot of little files being downloaded. These is the list of the "packages". It then compares that list against what is installed. Click on Mark All Upgrades and if there are any updates you'll be able to click on Apply. This will update everything on the system. Uninstalling an application is as simple as finding it, unticking it and clicking Apply. In the next article, I will explore installing an application (package) that is not in the distribution's repositories. That is, when you search for it, it isn't there. You may be able to download it from a website, but what do you do then? And exactly which package are we to download? As always, thanks for reading to the end, and feel free to leave a comment or suggestion for an article you'd like to see.
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