Installing programs via Synaptic.
In this article, we will look at the principle of installing programs and their sources, as well as get acquainted with the Synaptic package manager. We will learn what repositories are, how to download programs, and more.
The general principle of installing applications in Ubuntu
Having installed Ubuntu on your computer, you will have at your disposal a set of programs for work, entertainment and Internet surfing. This is an office suite OpenOffice, mail client, instant messaging client, audio and video players, CD burner and much, much more. But what we are offered is an alternative to what we are used to. Of course, someone doesn't care which programs to use, but still I would like to have something with the usual functionality and interface. You can try to install windows programs from under Wine, but that's not the case, and what is the point of switching to Linux?
Let's start with the fact that there are a number of cross-platform programs, i.e. programs that are developed for different operating systems. A striking example of this is the Firefox web browser. By the way, it is installed by default along with Ubuntu, and, unlike the windows version, has a more pleasant font. The only major difference is the location of the "Options" item in the "Edit" tab, not in the "Tools" tab. Why this was done is not clear.
Well, okay, something I digress. So, let's start installing programs. All programs are downloaded from the Internet or taken from the installation disc. Programs in Linux, the Debian branch, which includes Ubuntu, are stored as deb packages. On the Internet, you can take it from the official repositories (ports). But about everything in order.
All programs from the deb packages are installed using the APT program, which has a number of options and graphical add-ons. You can use the installation through the console terminal. Do not be alarmed, the console is not difficult, but even convenient if you know exactly the name of the program you want to install.
Linux must know where to get programs from, i.e. have a list of available repositories. The list can be edited using the Synaptic graphical utility.
Go in System\u003e Settings\u003e Administration\u003e Package ManagerSynaptic.
Since installing software is administratively privileged, Ubuntu will ask for your password for security reasons. Without your password, no one can uninstall / install programs or corrupt configuration files. After opening Synaptic, go to Settings\u003e Repositories
We see a list of repositories that can be enabled / disabled. Also, as a source of applications, you can select a disk with Ubuntu (it can be useful if there is no Internet connection or you want to update the distribution kit from the disk to a newer version). In the "Other software" tab, you can independently add third-party repositories, that is, those sources of applications that are not official, but may contain the programs you need and updates to them. With the "Update" tab, I think there will be no questions. The only thing I want to note here is the "Release Updates" item. When a new version of Ubuntu is released, the update manager will prompt you to update your software if you select Long Term Support Releases or Regular Releases. If you don't update, you won't be able to get updates from the official repositories supported by Canonical, which is the lion's share of all Ubuntu software. The difference between regular and long-term releases is:
Normal: within 2-3 years
Long-term support: 3 years for workstations and 5 years for servers.
Naturally, all updates are free.
You can add any other repositories of your choice, for example, if you want to install a program that is not in the official repositories or the main repositories are temporarily unavailable. I recommend paying attention to the mirror mirror.yandex.ru
After you've updated the list of repositories, you need Linux to know what exactly they contain. To do this, in Synaptic, click the button in the "Update list" (at this moment, xml files-lists with installation packages and their descriptions will be downloaded from the specified repositories).
The "Authentication" tab contains a list of keys (digital signatures) of the deb package providers. In the absence of a key, the repository is considered untrusted, and Ubuntu will refuse to accept deb packages from it.
In Synaptic, packages are divided into groups by category. If you do not know the name of the program you need, you can find it in the category by description. Check the box for installation and click "Apply". If the operation of the program you have chosen depends on another package, then Synaptic itself will offer to download and install the required one. It is called dependence.Once you have installed the program you want, you will most likely find a link to it in the Gnome menu. An exception is the complete absence of a graphical interface for the program.
In this article, we went through the installation from the graphical shell. In the next article I will talk about installing programs from the console. You will also find out where the list of repositories is stored, where deb packages are downloaded and where programs are installed.
Windows users switching to Linuxalready have some store of knowledge and computer skills, some of which become useless in Linux, due to significant differences between systems. Linux is a more flexible system in which you can achieve what you want in several ways. This also applies to installing programs. If Windows users are accustomed to running an installer, usually called Setup.exe or Install.exe, to install a program, there are several ways to do this on Linux. Nevertheless, we recommend installing programs from the official repositories, and using other options only in cases where there is a clear understanding of how and why this is done.
Repository is an archive of programs located on the Internet or on a local network. Installation of programs from this archive is performed using special utilities, which we will consider below. The repositories of popular distributions contain a huge number of programs for every taste. For example, the Debian stable repository contains over 37,500 packages.
Package is a set of files (executable files, source code, data) intended for installing programs. Also, packages contain some service information, for example, version number and so-called dependencies.
Dependencies indicate which third-party packages (i.e. programs, libraries, data) are needed for a given application to work properly. If the required packages are missing on the computer, they will be installed automatically. Thus, the user does not need to follow the installation of all the necessary libraries, data required for the operation of specific software. For this, special programs are used - package managers.
Another advantage of using the official repositories is that all packages are thoroughly checked before being included in the repository and, in most cases, are distributed together with open source code, which guarantees the program's performance and virtually eliminates the presence of malicious code. But when installing programs from unofficial sources, you need to be careful.
To install programs from the repositories, various package managers are used, which can have both graphical and textual interfaces.
Installing software in Ubuntu using a graphical interface
Let's start with the standard manager of the most popular Linux distribution today - Ubuntu. It is called " Ubuntu Application Center". To call this program, you need to click on the corresponding icon on the launcher.
Figure: 1. Ubuntu Application Center Icon
If the icon is not there, you need to open the Main Menu (Dash) and type the first letters of the program name.
Figure: 2. Ubuntu Application Center
At the top of the program window, you can select:
- « All Apps"To view and install new programs
- « Installed»To view installed applications and uninstall them if necessary
- « History»To view the program log.
In the upper right corner of the window there is a search bar where you can enter keywords describing the desired program. On the left is a list of program categories. The list of programs is located in the center of the window. By clicking on the icon or the name of the program, we will see its detailed description, screenshots and user reviews. To install the program, press the button " Install" (or " Buy"If the application is paid). Before installation, the system will ask for the superuser password, after which it will remain to wait for a while until the program is loaded and installed. Removing programs is done in the same way. At the top of the window, click on the button " Installed", Select the program you want to delete, then press the button" Delete».
The Ubuntu Application Center can also be used to install packages that have been downloaded from the Internet. On Ubuntu, they have the .deb extension. To install programs in this way, just click on the program distribution kit (file.deb), the control center will open, after which you need to press the button " Install". In this case, the distribution kit of the program must be created for the specific version of the operating system you have installed, otherwise problems with dependencies may arise and the program cannot be installed. In addition, when downloading programs from dubious sources, there is a possibility of the presence of malicious code in them, therefore, we repeat the recommendation for installing programs from official distributions. There are other graphical package managers for various Linux-based systems (Synaptic, KPackage, etc.). Within the framework of this article, we will not be able to consider them in detail, however, they have similar functionality and interface, so when installing programs using the graphical interface, there should not be any special problems.
Installing programs in command line mode
Various package managers are used to install and uninstall programs in command line mode. The graphical managers discussed above are just add-ons over them. The same actions can be performed in the command line mode. To work with the command line, you need to open a terminal or console. For more information on working with the command line, see the Linux Commands article. A number of commands, discussed below, must be executed in superuser mode. To enter superuser mode, you need to enter the su command, or enter sudo before each command that requires root privileges. Debian-based systems (Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Linux Mint, Xubuntu, Damn Small Linux, etc.) use a manager to manage .deb packages apt-get, utility dpkg and shell aptitudewith a text interface.
Installing the program from the repository
Before installing programs, you need to update the versions of installed programs and libraries by running the following commands:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
Then install the required package with the command:
sudo apt-get install paket
Where paket is the name of the package, for example command
sudo apt-get install mc
will install the mc package i.e. Midnight Commander.
To remove the paket package, run the command:
sudo apt-get remove paket
You can install or uninstall several programs at the same time, for example, the command:
sudo apt-get install php5 mysql-server apache2 phpmyadmin
will install the basic set of programs required for the web server to work.
Search programs:
sudo apt-cache search keyword
Search by keyword "keyword" is performed both in the title and in the description of programs.
You can also use aptitude to work with packages. The syntax for installing and removing packages is the same as for apt-get:
sudo aptitude install paket
sudo aptitude remove paket
Team aptitude without parameters will invoke a text wrapper for package management.
Installing the program directly from the distribution (file.deb)
sudo dpkg -i paket.deb
View package list:
dpkg -l mask
For example, the command
dpkg -l apache2- will show if the apache2 package is installed.
dpkg -l | grep apache2- will show all packages that have a combination of letters "apache2" in their name.
dpkg -L apache2- will show all files that belong to the apache2 package.
sudo dpkg -r paket- removal of package paket.
Installing software on RPM systems
These are systems based on Red Hat Linux, hence the name RPM - Red Hat Package Manager. Accordingly, packages have the .rpm extension. The most popular systems using RPM are openSUSE, Mageia, Fedora, CentOS, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, ALT Linux, ASP Linux. The package manager on these systems usually uses the utility yum.
To update packages, you need to run the command:
yum update
To install the paket program from the repository, use the command:
yum install paket
To delete, respectively:
yum remove paket
Search for the program by the keyword "keyword":
yum search keyword
Running executable files and scripts
Sometimes programs for Linux are supplied already as a ready-made executable file in binary form, or as a program in some scripting language (bash, Python, Perl, PHP, etc.). Typically, the file type can be identified by the extension: .bin - binary executable file, .sh - Bourne shell or bash script. .py is a Python program, .pl is a Perl script. Some executable files have the .run extension. But in Linux, the use of extensions for executable files is optional. If the file is a script, then the program for its execution is usually indicated in the first line. For example, if the line looks like #! / Usr / bin / perl, then this is a Perl script, and if #! / Usr / bin / env is bash, then this is a bash script. You can view the file using the command less file... To run the program, you must give it execution rights, this is done using the command:
sudo chmod + x file.sh
After this command, file.sh will become executable. However, if you then just type file.sh in the terminal, then it will not start for execution. To run programs, they must be located only in the directories specified in the $ PATH variable, or programs must be launched with the path to the file. The easiest way to do this while in the file directory is to type a period and a slash before the file name. That is, to run file.sh, you need to type:
./file.sh
Scripts in scripting languages \u200b\u200bcan be denied execution permission (chmod + x), you can determine the file type as indicated above and run the appropriate interpreter with the executable file specified. For example:
sh file.sh
python file.py
Do not forget that the appropriate programming language must be installed to run the program, in the latter case Python.
Compiling programs
Most programs for Linux are open source, that is, they are distributed along with the source code. This allows a wide range of programmers to participate in development, fix bugs, modify programs, check them for malicious code and bookmarks, port programs to other platforms, etc. In addition, during compilation, you can optimize the work of programs, for example, the speed of their execution. On the other hand, compiling programs is the most difficult type of installation. It is up to the user to keep track of the dependencies and handle errors that may occur during compilation. The source code is usually supplied as tar archives compressed with gzip archivers: tar.gz, tgz, bzip2: tar.bz2
First you need to unpack the source file by running the command:
tar -xvf program.tar
If the file is compressed, the type of the archiver will be recognized automatically, so you can omit it as a key. The source code will be unpacked into the directory corresponding to the file name, in this case program. Go to the source code directory:
cd program
If there are README or INSTALL files in the folder, you need to read them, they usually contain important installation information and a list of required libraries to install before compiling. You can view the list of files using the command lsand view the README file with the command less README.
Most often, compilation is done using the following commands: ./configure
configure is a script that checks if all the programs and libraries needed to compile are present and prepares for the main process. If the script generates an error, you will need to install the appropriate programs and libraries. If there are no errors, we compile directly with the command:
If everything went well, then to install the compiled program, you will need to run the command:
make install
If the installation is carried out in system directories, you need root rights or the sudo command:
sudo make install
After installation, you can delete unnecessary temporary files with the command:
sudo make clean
Removing a program that is installed in this way is usually done with the command:
sudo make uninstall
We will mention another way to install programs, specifically games.
Recently, game makers have begun to pay more attention to Linux, which has given rise, for example, to a platform such as Steam. But this is already a topic for a separate article.
Although the Ubuntu Linux distribution kit is already installed with a set of application programs, nevertheless, it may be necessary to install some additional programs. How to install the program on Linux Ubuntu?
In general, almost any Linux distribution has two ways to accomplish this task.
The first, simple one, is to use pre-compiled binary packages. Such packages are installed in the same way as in Windows OS - download the installation file, run it and the program is installed. This path is even easier than in Windows if you use the official repositories and special package management programs. If you use such a program, then you just need to launch it, then find the desired program in the list and click the "Install" button. Then the program will do everything by itself.
Such binary packages are usually located in the Internet repositories. A repository is a server on which, in a strictly defined form, computer programs are collected and stored, and in addition to the programs themselves, there is also service information for automatic installers.
The second path is not for the faint of heart. It is compilation of a program directly on your computer from source codes. First you download the archive with the source code of the program, then unpack it, then start the compilation and installation process. And after that, if you are very lucky, the program will be installed. But another scenario is more likely - during the compilation process, errors will occur and you will have to deal with the cause of these errors.
I myself am not a fan of such perversions and do not advise anyone. Therefore, further in this article, only the first, civilized method of installing programs will be described.
Ubuntu Linux provides three graphical programs for installing binary packages (Ubuntu uses deb binary packages). These are Gdebi, Synaptic and Software-center. Gdebi is the simplest of them all - through it you can install the packages you have available on your computer. Synaptic and Software-center download packages from repositories by themselves, you only need to specify which program you want to install.
Synaptic is a whole complex designed not only for installing packages from repositories, but also for managing already installed packages.
And finally, the heavyweight, the new program that Ubuntu developers are betting on. In their opinion, Software-center should replace both Gdebi and Synaptic.
Of course this program is beautiful. And it gives even more information than Synaptic. For example, user ratings of programs. But. It turned out in the spirit of the times - heavy, unhurried, and even unstable. It is below average pleasure to install a separate, local deb package through this Center. And she slowly installs from the Internet repositories. But if you are not going to install new programs every day, then this is a perfectly acceptable option.
If you use only the official Ubuntu repositories, information about which is "hardcoded" in the Synaptic and Software-center programs out of the box, then you do not need to know anything about installing programs at all. Start the Software-center, look for the program you need, then click the "Install" button and that's it.
But there are more than official repositories for Ubuntu. There are a large number of unofficial, that is, created by volunteers who are not related to the Ubuntu developers. Installation of programs from such repositories can be done in the same way through Software-center or Synaptic. It is only necessary to specify the address of such a repository in the settings of these programs.
In addition, there are cases when a program in the form of a deb file can be downloaded from the developer's website. For example, in this way you can download and install the Skype and Opera programs. On sites skype.com and opera.com you can find a version for Ubuntu Linux and download it. The installation of such a program is carried out in the same way as in Windows, download the file, run this file, one of the installers (Gdebi or Software-center) automatically starts and installs the program.
In addition to installing application programs, updates must be installed periodically. This is done through a special program - Update manager (Update Manager).
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This program shows a list of updates and a description for each update. You only need to click the "Install Updates" button. During the installation of updates, the program will display the progress. By default, after installing Ubuntu, the Update manager starts automatically at system startup and checks for updates every day on its own. If it detects available updates then a message is displayed to the user and a window with the list of updates opens. But the update manager can be removed from the autostart and started manually.
Don't use unofficial repositories. And if you have a need to install a program that is not in the official repositories, then before installing, collect information about this program, and also look for the most reliable source from where you can download the installation file. It is important to adhere to this rule for security reasons, because instead of an application program, you can download and install a malicious program (Trojan, rootkit, virus). What is a secure source? First of all, these are the official repositories. Secondly, this is the site of the program developer. If you do not download Skype from the developer site skype.com, but from some site like pupkin.narod.ru that is, it is likely that it will not be Skype at all, but a Trojan that imitates the Skype program.
If you have Ubuntu 11.10 installed Gdebi and Synaptic, it will be easier with them.
Installing from the console
If you consider yourself a kulkhacker, then use console programs apt, dpkg, wget... Because the console is cool and the graphical tools suck.
If you live in Krasnodar, there is an easy way for you to install software and updates on Ubuntu.
If you find it useful or just like this article, then do not hesitate - support the author financially. It's easy to do by throwing money on Yandex Wallet No. 410011416229354... Or on the phone +7 918-16-26-331 .
Even a small amount can help you write new articles :)
In this article, I will show you how to install the program on Linux Mint. The article will consider several methods, each method has its own advantages and disadvantages and can be used in different situations.
Installing Programs in Linux Mint with Software Manager
The easiest way to find and install programs in Mint is through the Software Manager. It offers a neat and convenient interface for finding and installing programs. Programs are organized by "repositories", and if the program you want is not in the repositories supported by Software Manager, you will have to look for alternative ways to find them.
To get started, take a look at the home page of the program - perhaps here you will be offered a convenient downloadable installer in the form of a Deb package - select the 32- or 64-bit version for download (if prompted) to match the version of Ubuntu you have installed. After downloading it, go to the Downloads folder, double-click on the file and follow the instructions to install it.
How to install the program on Linux Mint via terminal
Other programs may need to be installed via the terminal. This usually assumes that you add the software repositories first with the following command:
sudo addaptrepository ppa: user / ppaname
ppa: stands for Personal Package Archive - this is a special software repository, usually centered on Ubuntu, that anyone, usually the software development team, can create to download the source packages for download.
Replace ppa: user / ppa-name with the PPA provided by the software manufacturer.
You will then be able to install packages from the repository, through the Software Manager, or - since you are already in the terminal - with the following command:
sudo aptget update && sudo aptget install "program"
Replace “program” with the name of the program you want, and it will be downloaded and installed.
Once added, you can view and manage the repositories through System Settings\u003e Software Sources.
Updating programs installed in Linux Mint
Programs that you install through the repositories - through the terminal or the Software Manager - are checked for updates very regularly, namely within 10 minutes after the first download and then every two hours. This is common enough for most, however you can check manually using one of two methods.
The first is for Cinnamon: open Menu\u003e Administration\u003e Update Manage, click Refresh to manually check, and select the Edit\u003e Preferences\u003e Auto-Refresh tab. to change the time between checks for updates (days, hours, and minutes are supported).
To check for updates through the terminal, enter:
sudo apt-get update
The versions of the applications in the Software Center may not be as new as those offered on the software site - by adding the appropriate repositories, you can ensure that the latest version of the program is installed and you can access the beta and other pre-release versions.
By the way, if you still do not know how to store passwords, then in the article "", we told you how to do it correctly.
Now you know how to install the program on Linux Mint. Good luck and happy holidays to everyone!
People usually switch to Ubuntu after using the Windows operating system for a long time. Since these operating systems differ significantly from each other, an inexperienced user may have problems when working. Sometimes it comes to the absurd, a person simply does not understand how programs for Ubuntu are installed.
This article will just touch on this topic. All popular methods of installing programs, as well as their launch, will be considered.
Installation with Synaptic
First, let's look at the simplest way using the Synaptic program. This software comes with any Linux distribution, and you can find it in the "Menu". There, hover over "Administration" and on the right select "Synaptic Package Manager".
This program is not the only one of its kind, but they all work according to the same principle, so there are no significant differences in them. The good thing about the program is that it has what Windows users are so used to.
So, in order to install programs for Ubuntu, go to the package manager. At startup, you will be asked to enter the password that you specified when installing the operating system. By entering it, you will open the program itself. First of all, update all packages by clicking on the button of the same name.
Now you see a list of all programs that are hosted in the repository. Having found the necessary one, double-click on it, or you can right-click and select "Mark for installation" in the context menu. Once you've done that, you can proceed to the installation. To do this, click in the upper panel "Apply". The installation will start immediately, you will be shown what packages will be installed and given a brief information about them.
Now you know how to install programs for Ubuntu using the Synaptic package manager.
Installing via the repository using the terminal
To install the program for Ubuntu, you can also use the terminal, or, as it is also called, the command line. To open the terminal, click the corresponding icon or the Ctrl + Alt + T key combination.
This method is good in that information about the program is provided many times more, plus flexible configuration is available. But a significant disadvantage is that for a newly arrived Ubuntu user, it may seem complicated and incomprehensible, and this is not surprising, because the work is carried out without a graphical interface.
So, before you is an open terminal. Start by typing sudo apt-get update to update the program lists. Now you can go directly to the installation. To do this, you must enter:
To make it clearer, it is worth giving an example:
| sudo apt-get install chromium |
It is also possible to install several software at once. To do this, just enter their name separated by a space.
A small remark. When you enter the first line in the terminal, you may be prompted for a password, and so, when you enter it, nothing is displayed - this is normal. For example, if your password is "0000", just press zero four times and then Enter.
Now you know another way, in Ubuntu.
Installing from the dep package with a graphical interface
It also happens that the file you need was not found in the repository. It's not scary. Most likely, the author of the program simply does not have his own repository. In this case, the program can be redistributed using the deb package.
Find the necessary package on the Internet and download it to your computer. The advantage of this method is that you do not need the Internet to install the program. The package can be dropped to a flash drive and installed on any PC. But there is a significant minus, the fact is that after installation in this way, the program will not update itself, since the system will not find it in the repository.
So, the deb package is downloaded on the PC. To install it using Nautilus (this is the same as "Explorer" in Windows), open the folder where the file is located and double-click on it. You will see a window asking for permission to install this program, click "Install package", and the installation process will begin.
Installing from the dep package using the terminal
The deb package can also be installed using the terminal, for this you must first run it. It is important to know that installing in this way assumes the presence of dpkg, and if you do not have this utility, then you need to install it.
Direct installation of the deb package through the terminal is carried out using the command:
As you noticed, you need to create a path to the file, for example it will look like this:
Do not forget also that when you are asked for a password, you will not see it as you type.
Launching Applications
Well, that seems to be all. We talked about how to install programs in Ubuntu, it remains only to explain how the Ubuntu programs are launched.
There are also several ways to use this. The first involves launching through the "Menu". Just click the corresponding icon and find the program you need in one of the sections. After clicking on the icon, it will start.
The second method is much faster, it involves using the same terminal. Open it and in the line just enter the name of the program. For example, if you want to run the text editor Gedit, just type:
| gedit |
After pressing Enter, the program will start.
It is also worth mentioning that Windows programs are also launched on Ubuntu, only for this you need to install a special program, it is called Wine. Its installation and configuration can be found on the Internet. Well, that's all, you learned how you can install programs on the Ubuntu operating system.
