Make Tech Easier » installation guide

How to Install Software from a Tarball in Linux

Joshua Price — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:30:17 +0000

Most of the time, installing software in Linux is a breeze. Package management utilities like Apt, Portage, and Yum have made software installation in Linux even easier than it is in Windows (in my opinion at least). If you know what you want, you simply tell your package manager that you want it, and it’ll find, download, install, and configure your new package for you.

Sometimes, however, the package doesn’t exist in your distribution’s repositories. Often, in cases like that, your only option is to download a tarball (usually .tar.gz, .tar.bz, or .tgz) which contains the source code for the program that you have to compile yourself. While it may be a little intimidating at first, compiling from source is normally a quick and easy process. Today, we’ll learn how.

First off, I should note that not all tarballs are the same. This guide will be assuming that the program you’re trying to install is a normal GNU-style source code collection. Most require all the steps noted below, but many skip one step or another. For the purposes of the tutorial I’ll be compiling the source code package of Python 3.0.1 from the Python homepage.

Step 1: Extract the tarball

For those new to Linux, tarball is a term commonly used to refer to a file which contains other files. It’s a lot like a ZIP or RAR file in Windows, except that the tar program, on its own, does not compress the files. Tar works with a compression program like gzip to actually compress the files, which is why you commonly see two extensions (.tar and .gz). This is sometimes abbreviated to just .tgz.

Fortunately, we don’t need to run two separate programs to extract the files, we just tell tar to run the files through gzip to decompress. You can use a graphical utility to extract those files by simply double clicking the tarball from your file manager, or you can do it from the command line with:

tar -zxvf mytarball.tar.gz

The options we gave tar are as follows:

-z to tell tar to run this file through gzip to decompress (use -j for bzip files)
-x to extract the files
-v for “verbose”, so we can see a list of the files it’s extracting
-f to tell tar that we’re working with a file

For easier unzipping, see the Tips section at the bottom of this page

Configure

Once the files are extracted, open a command terminal and go to the directory where the files have been unzipped. Before we can compile, we need to run the configure script. The job of the configure script is to check your system for all the software necessary to compile the program from source code into a usable binary program. It looks for things like gcc version and other tools needed to build the software. So once you’re in the directory with all the files that were unpacked from the tarball, type in

./configure

If all goes well it’ll go through a check of various parts of your system, then drop you back to the command line like below:

The most common cause of errors in this step is a missing dependency. Look closely at any errors you may get to determine what package is missing.

Make

This is the real meat of the process – where we compile the source code into a runnable program. This is normally the easiest step, only requiring a single command. If the configure step completed without errors, simply type in

make

On a large program, this step might take a few minutes. Once done, you’ll be dropped back to the shell prompt as shown here.

Technically, your program is now ready to use. Under most circumstances, however, you’ll want to run one more step so that she program can be fully installed into the correct locations for it to be run from anywhere.

Make install

All this really does is copy the now-compiled program into the system directories like /usr/bin so that it can be run from any directory without having to specify a path to the files. Since it’s copying to a directory outside your home, you’ll probably need root privileges. If the make step completed without errors, simply run

sudo make install

to copy the files. At this point, you’re all done! Your new program can be used like any other.

Tips

Chances are, you’ll be compiling from source more than once in your life. In fact, for those who like to use the latest and greatest software, this can be very common. To make it a little easier, open your .bashrc file from your home directory, and add the following aliases to the end:

alias ungz="tar -zxvf"
alias unbz="tar -jxvf"
alias cmi="./configure && make && sudo make install"

How to Install Software from a Tarball in Linux originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

How to Upgrade Windows 7 Beta To Windows 7 RC1 Without Formatting Your Hard Disk

Damien — Fri, 08 May 2009 01:47:07 +0000

Microsoft released the Windows 7 Release Candidate for public testing early this week. If you have not grab your copy, you can download it at the Microsoft download site.

This time round, Microsoft is offering the download at least through July 2009, so there is no need to rush for it.

If you are currently Vista on your computer, you can easily upgrade to Windows 7 RC 1 without reformatting the hard disk. However, if you have already converted fully to Windows 7 since beta release, you are out of luck, because Microsoft does not allow you to to perform a direct upgrade from the Beta.

We’ve also learned that many of you (millions) are running Windows 7 Beta full time. You’re anxious for a refresh. You’ve installed all your applications. You’ve configured and customized the system. You would love to get the RC and quickly upgrade to it from Beta. The RC, however, is about getting breadth coverage to validate the product in real-world scenarios. As a result, we want to encourage you to revert to a Vista image and upgrade or to do a clean install, rather than upgrade the existing Beta. We know that means reinstalling, recustomizing, reconfiguring, and so on. That is a real pain. The reality is that upgrading from one pre-release build to another is not a scenario we want to focus on because it is not something real-world customers will experience.

Excerpted from MSDN blog

If you decide to follow Microsoft’s advice and do a clean installation, you can use the Windows Easy Transfer application to back up/restore your data easily. However if you are looking for a quick fix to upgrade to Windows 7 RC 1 directly from Beta, here’s the hack:

1. Download the Windows 7 RC1 iso file.

2. Download and install Virtual CloneDrive in your Windows 7 beta. You should see a new virtual drive in your Windows Explorer.

3. Right click on the virtual drive and select VirtualCloneDrive -> Mount. Navigate to the location where you save the RC1 iso file and select the file. This will mount the iso in your system.

4. Open the virtual drive (right click and select Open, do not double click). Copy all the files to a new folder in your hard disk (or a flash drive).

5. In the new folder where you have saved all the files, browse to the sources directory. Open the file cversion.ini with Notepad.

6. Change the MinClient build number to 7000

7. Save the file in place with the same name.

8. Go up one folder and double click the Setup file to start the RC1 installation.

That’s it.

Note: You might experience some oddity with this method of upgrading. For best user experience, it is advisable to do a clean installation.

How to Upgrade Windows 7 Beta To Windows 7 RC1 Without Formatting Your Hard Disk originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

Download Ubuntu Installation Guide and Cheatsheet Now

Damien — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:00:47 +0000

Today is the big day you have been waiting for, the day where Ubuntu 9.04 is released. I hope you have successfully downloaded the LiveCD and installed it on your system.

For those who have difficulties installing or migrating to Ubuntu, we thought this would be a good time to bring a nice little cheat sheet/installation guide for all MakeTechEasier readers.

Ubuntu Installation Guide

In this step-by-step installation guide, MakeTechEasier’s writer – Sharninder (geekyninja.com) will hold your hand through the whole installation process. Be it a fresh installation, upgrade from previous Ubuntu version or installing in your Windows OS, you won’t feel lost with this guide around.

Ubuntu Cheatsheet

In addition, Sharninder also comes out with a bash command cheatsheet that you can refer to it quickly and easily. There is no need for you to hunt high and low for that particular command now.

Don’t wait anymore! Download the Ubuntu 9.04 Installation Guide and Cheatsheet now, at no cost at all.

Download Ubuntu Installation Guide and Cheatsheet Now originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)