From LQWiki
This article explains how you can install software to your Linux system.
How you should start
To avoid trouble, best practice recommends installing software using the distribution's package management system. So, first step for you is to find out your distribution. Then try to install the software by means of your distribution. If that is not possible, you will have to download the software from the internet and build it.
For example, if you want to install firefox, this is how you install it:
SuSE:
yast2 -i firefox
yum install firefox
apt-get install firefox
emerge firefox paludis -i firefox
urpmi firefox
Installing manually
If your distribution does not provide the package you want to install, there might be other ways to install it that you should be aware of:
- RPM - the RedHat Package Manager format, described at www.rpm.org. This format is used by Red Hat, SuSE, and Mandriva. You can search for recent RPMs for your system using http://www.rpmfind.net.
- DEB - the Debian package format. This is used by Debian and Debian-based distributions, such as Knoppix.
- klik - a mechanism aiming at installing with one click an application for all distributions including all dependencies.
- CPAN - an installation mechanism independent of the distribution, but dependent on the programming language; only available for Perl.
Compilation from source
Main article: Compilation from source.
If the above options are not available, you will have to compile your software manually.
Typically, you will
Some packages require to issue to test installation
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