Need some Ubuntu help, please!?

[maltb]

Hi all,

I'm using Ubunut 5.10, anywyas when I download a program it saves it to my desktop, but I don't know how to install the program, I'm so use to using Win xp, this is pretty much my first time using a Linux distro which I chose to use Ubuntu 5.10. Anyways I don't know the command lines, and all that but mainly I 'm not sure how to install a program once I've downloaded it.

I've used the add new programs in Ubuntu and that was easy cause those programs seem to be default programs with Ubuntu that you can install or uninstall and process is like a wizard that does all the work for you...but when I download some other piece of software that's compaitble with the OS, I get lost. I downloaded Smoothwall 2.0 express, I have it saved to my desktop....it's an ISO file, and I don't want to burn it to a CD, so how do I install the application?

Not just ISO files but in general, whats the proper way to install software once you've saved it to a folder/desktop, ect...

One more thing the command lines that I've seen where would you use that, under "Terminal" or what, like using the command lines would be like using DOS or CMD prompt in windows would it not? I'm not so sure I understand the whole reasons why command lines are neccessary or used with Linux distros in the first place, except that I've heard there open source which means what?

 

[philg]

Open source means you can download the source code to the program, modify it, compile and install it.

Yes, you type those commands into a terminal. The terminal is a lot more powerful and useful than windows command prompt, most linux users use the terminal daily, with some of the more traditional distros you wouldn't get anywhere without it. The windowing system is only an app, not part of the base Linux system. In fact my linux server doesn't have this windowing system installed (Xorg), the only way to use it is through a terminal. The reason why we use them is because they are more powerful than any gui system once you have learned how to, and the windowing system takes much system resources, for a server it is better to use those resources for web or email services.

I thought smoothwall was a distro itself, so it would replace ubuntu. You would need to burn the ISO image so you can boot from it to start the installation.

There are different ways to install programs, either the way you found by using ubuntu's package management system, installing from source or any other number of ways, you really need to know what you have downloaded, an rpm package? deb package? source tarball? a binary installer (I think firefox makes these). The first thing to do is read the documentation on the product's website to find out how to install

 

[Sevoma]

If you want a firewall, install firestarter through synaptic.

 

[horndude]

if your curious as to what is in that smoothwall ISO, then while logged in as root open a terminal and do this:
mount -o loop smoothwall.iso /tmp;cd /tmp;ls ---------->that will mount it on /tmp snd move you into the file tree of smoothwall.iso as though it was a disc

to unmount it, cd back into the home directory where smoothwall.ISO is located and then: umount smoothwall.ISO, then log out of root with ctrl-d or exit

 

[philg]

do not mount it to /tmp, files in there maybe required by the system, or the system may need to write a new file to that dir, instead use another non-system folder - maybe make a new dir `iso` under /mnt and mount the iso image to /mnt/iso

 

[macdude425]

do not mount it to /tmp, files in there maybe required by the system

That's like saying not to mount a drive to /home because all my pictures are in there. Nothing is going to happen to the data already there, so it'll be OK. Plus, since this mount is temp, it's only fitting.

 

[philg]

I'm afraid not, lets take for example your running a database server and a front end program, the default configuration for mysql puts mysql.sock in /tmp, now the front end program will use that file to connect to a database and retrieve data, if you mount an iso image there then that socket file won't be available any more, crashing the program thats attempting to connect to mysql.

Now, I know not everyone runs a mysql server but I do know that programs like Xorg and xmms put files in /tmp. Its just a know a bit more about the workings of MySQL and not so much about Xorg

I am also not saying that existing data will be destroyed

Furthermore:
According to http://linux.about.com/od/embedded/l/blnewbie3_1_2.htm /mnt is the proper place for removable media and I would say an iso image comes under this category. Though many systems put additional directories under /mnt for floppy/cd/etc which is why I suggested /mnt/iso rather than simply /mnt. /tmp is for temporary files, not temporarily mounting images to

 

[popey]

Mount points should be just that, a mount point not a directory containing existing files. Using /mnt/* is common practise but you can create a mount point wherever you like. If you create one outside of your home directory as root don't forget to chown it to your user name.