For the most part, if you download a tar.gz file, it has the source and
that's what you're isntalling from. So you have to compile and install.
The basic formate for that goes in 3 commands.
./configure
That will configure the install information so it can be installed.
make
That command will make the install file that will then be installed.
make install
That command actually goes through and installs the program. There is
normally a README file that will give you options for when compiling the
program, but a lot of time it will detect the things it needs, uses them
and then finishes. But you may want to change other things later, but I
suggest you go with the K.I.S.S. rule until you're more comfortable with
doing it.
I create install scripts that give me the out put so I can review later,
but you can just take the ./configure to start with. When it's done
running that, run make. (Unless it tells you other wise! Make sure you
look for something that asks for things like gmake.) After the make
command stops, run make install. At which point you should be able to
do a which <progam> name.
To understand what the variables mean, do a man tar at a prompt and read
through that. But for the most people use the tar -zxvf and even have
something aliased to it for quicker use. You may want to get rid of the
v at first, which is for verbose and will show you everything it's doing
out on your terminal, but keep the rest on there just to make it easier
and more consistant.
Some software vendors will even give the commands to run in the actual
README file or other "documentation" that came with the software.
Hope that helps.
tdh
--
T. Holmes
Unixtechs.org
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.unixtechs.org/
"Real Men use Vi."
* Robert Fleming <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [010228 03:45]:
> tar -xzvf filename should do it
>
> wade
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Bill Barto <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2001 8:24 PM
> Subject: [newbie] untar commands?
>
>
> > Could someone please tell me how to uncompress and install a tar.gz
> > file?
> > I have been trying for hours checking the docs and can't seem to make it
> > work.
> > My BIOS ate my 40G HD and I installed new controller card. MFG only has
> > e-mail
> > support and wife is crying about "the mouse doesn't work the same as
> > windows".
> > I d/l the support.pdf file from the MFG but the built in reader gives me
> > blank pages.
> > Now I have d/l Acrobat reader but can't get it to untar. Have used
> > Archiver in 7.2
> > and can get to the files but leaves them in tar format. How do I get
> > them from tar
> > to executables?
