Going Linux Home Page
Going Linux
The Podcast
Receive new episodes automatically.
Subscribe for free:
Copy and paste this link into your podcatcher to subscribe to the mp3 feed mp3 feed
Copy and paste this link into your podcatcher to subscribe to the ogg feed ogg  feed

Subscribe via iTunes
Creative Commons License
This work
is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Creative Commons License
These audio files
are licensed under a
Creative Commons Sampling Plus 1.0 License. 

Going Linux
Practical Information for Using Linux To Get Things Done
 Home Tab  Show Notes Tab  Articles Tab  Screencasts Tab  About Us Tab  
 Installing Linux Software Application Packages

Many Linux distributions provide software "repositories" so that you don't have to search the Internet for software if you want to install something you don't already have. (Listen to Episode 3 and Episode 13 of the podcast for an audio description of using package managers to install browser plug-ins and other software.)

Repositories
The concept of software repositories is likely not all that familiar to users switching from Windows, since you normally have to go to a store, or go on-line to purchase new software for the Microsoft operating system. With Linux, almost everything that is available and tested for a specific distribution of Linux is available in the on-line repositories for that distribution.

Unlike the various shareware websites for Windows add-ons, software repositories for Linux are managed, maintained and updated by the Linux distribution, and contain almost ALL of the full-featured, free and open source software, that has been tested for installation on that particular distribution. (And they won't put spyware and viruses on your computer!)
Top

Which package repositories?
To be clear, in the Linux world, software packages are often referred to simply as "packages."

Most newbie-friendly Linux distributions -- like Ubuntu and its variants, as well as Freespire, openSuSE, etc. -- provide a graphical package manager that automates the process of installing software packages from the repositories. All distributions allow you to install packages from the command line, but since our reading and listening audience is made up of a significant number of newbies, we'll confine our discussion to the graphical methods, and to the KDE desktop environment.

First, we'll describe how to get to a place where you can search for packages in three graphical package managers. From there, you can search for the software package you want to install. If it is there, you will be able to install it easily. If not, you may need to add additional repositories for your package manager to search. If worst comes to worst, you could carefully follow the Linux installation instructions given on the software developer's website. That may (and usually does) involve some command-line stuff. In addition, when installing software not in a repository for your distribution, you could run into installation troubles you don't expect. So it's definitely preferable to install from a repository whenever possible.

Here are some links to information about using the repositories for three popular newbie-friendly distributions:

Freespire's CNR Warehouse:
http://wiki.freespire.org/index.php/CNR_Warehouse

Setting-up Kubuntu repositories:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Repositories/Kubuntu

Setting-up openSuSE repositories:
http://en.opensuse.org/Add_Package_Repositories_to_YaST

Top

Installing packages from repositories
Freespire uses the Click and Run tool to automate the process. There is a Click and Run (CNR) icon on your Freespire desktop that walks you through it.
To find software in the CNR warehouse:
  1. Launch the green CNR icon.
  2. In the window that opens, select the "CNR Warehouse" tab.
  3. Click the icons, in the left menu, to browse and search for software.
  4. Search by name or by description for the application you want to install.
  5. To install the package you want, click the green "running man" icon. This will download and install it on your computer.
Kubuntu, and other variants of Ubuntu, are all based on Debian Linux, and use Debian versions of packages. (By the way, if you end-up searching manually on the Web for packages that are installable on your Debian-based distribution of Linux, the package versions that end in ".DEB" are the ones that are meant for your version of Linux.)

Kubuntu is our example. Kubuntu provides the Adept Package Manager for installing new software packages. In Kubuntu 8.04 and earlier, using KDE 3.x, Adept is usually available from Kubuntu's System selection in the K-Menu. In Kubuntu 8.04 and later, using Kubuntu's out-of-the-box KDE 4 menu configuration, the Adept Installer is available from the Computer tab on the Kickoff menu.
  1. After launching Adept, you will be able to search by name or description for the application you want to install.
  2. Right-click the package that you want to install and choose Request Install.
  3. Click the Apply Changes icon in the toolbar and your installation begins.
OpenSuSE and many other Linux distributions use RPM packages. Although the file extension ".RPM" stands for "Redhat Package Manager," the package manager used by openSuSE is NOT called the Redhat Package Manager. It is called YaST -- Yet Another System Tool.
  1. You will find YaST bearing the description "Control Center" under the System selection in the K-Menu.
  2. After opening YaST, you should select the icon for Software Management.
  3. Then you will be able to seach for the package you want from within the YaST application.
  4. Right-click the package that you want to install and choose Install.
  5. Click the Accept button to complete your installation.

Top
Search our audio files

Search our site
Google

Updated 02-Jan-2009

Valid HTML 4.01 Transitional Valid CSS! An interoperable Web page