Guide to Unix/Explanations/Installing Packages

The Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X platforms are so widespread that typically a Windows or Mac software vendor will provide a binary. In contrast, several packages for Unix-like systems are only available as sources. If they are available as binaries, they are usually only available for a few popular distros, or statically linked for a few popular kernels, and possibly for a different processor than what you run.

The best way to get many packages, especially free software packages, is to get them from your Unix-like system vendor. Vendors port the packages to their distros and build binary packages.

• Linux For Newbies has instructions for using apt-get on Debian and rpm on Red Hat.

Handling packages

• rpm
• apt-get
• pkg_add, pkg_delete, pkg_info
• pkgadd,pkginfo,pkgrm for Solaris

Querying packages

On rpm-based systems, to find out which package owns the command foo (where foo is a standalone executable), use the command:

$ rpm -q -f foo

To add a package on linux based system use

$ rpm -i foo

To remove package on linux based system user

$ rpm -e foo

rpm command has other options user man pages to find out more.