How-To Session: (Part 1 of Series) How to Install Any Application: Ubuntu

I was thinking the other day, isn’t it annoying when you get into a linux distribution, and you have no idea how to install something? This Tutorial aims to do its absolute best in explaining, in as little words as possible, how to install software in Ubuntu. I am most versed in Debian, so this tutorial is aimed at such. Distributions such as Red Hat, BSD, and others will covered in a later tutorial. I will start out by going over compiling from packages and source in general, then going to specific Terminal Installs, and GUI apps such as Synaptics Package Manager in Ubuntu. We are going to assume an imaginary packages called RUN_ME in all examples. Note:All asterisk symbols are merely “bullets”

Pre-Requisites:

• (RPM) - Alien: "sudo apt-get install alien"
• Checkinstall: "sudo apt-get install checkinstall

Installing In Ubuntu : via the Terminal

• .deb package

sudo dpkg -i RUN_ME.deb

• .rpm

install "alien" for your distribution
"sudo alien -i -.rpm

• tar.gz

tar -xzvf RUN_ME.tar.gz cd RUN_ME
make
make
sudo make install
make clean
To uninstall: sudo make uninstall
To install via the package manager for easy cleanup later , install checkinstall (sudo apt-get checkinstall) and substitute "sudo checkinstall" instead of the normal methods described above
A video of this In action

• Script Files: .sh , .package, .bin

chmod +x RUN_ME (.sh, .package, .bin)
./RUN_ME

• Run an .exe file (windows executable)

Download Wine for you distribution
cd /directory/to/.exe
wine RUN_ME.exe

• Using apt-get

sudo apt-get install RUN_ME
To Search: sudo apt-cache search RUN_ME
To Remove/Uninstall : sudo apt-get remove --purge RUN_ME

Installing In Ubuntu : via the GUI

• Manual Package installation can be found above

Using Add/Remove (Applications > Add / Remove)

1. First, make sure the Pull Down Menu at the top called "Show" is set to "All available Applications"
2. Reload Page If necessary
3. All applications are divided into categories
4. You may also search via the top right search box
5. Tick or "enable" any box next to a software you wish to install

Synaptic Package Manager:

1. What I like to do here is click anywhere in the package field, and start typing a Package Name
2. After checking a Package, Synaptic will notify you and prompt you to also install any dependencies
   Accept any to install any dependencies
3. To Upgrade a Package: Tick or Check any installed package (filled in green) and select "upgrade"
4. To Uninstall: Tick or Check a already installed package, and select either Remove or Remove Completely to also purge the package data.
5. Hit "Apply" to apply all changes to packages

Installing a package via double clicking the package in the GUI:

This screen, above, occurs when you click an installable package such as .deb files while in a GUI such as your File Manager, Nautilus

To check if a package is already installed, In Terminal type:
dpkg -s RUN_ME