Absolute Newbie Question

[etechpartner]

I have maybe a total of 4 hours on Kubuntu, so please be patient.
Question: After downloading mySQL via adept I want to start the administrative UI for it. How do I run a program that has been installed in /root ? I can find the exe's but clicking on their icons doesnt do anything.

[sky]

Re: Absolute Newbie Question

Hi,

Welcome to linux and kubuntu
First I would like to know how you managed to install staff in /root and how you're able to see it in konqueror ?
If it's really this, you have to be root, no ?
If not, can you tell us what application you're trying to launch please ?

[etechpartner]

Re: Absolute Newbie Question

Perhaps I'm misreading something. I installed MySQL via adept, and yes I suppose that adept has root access. In general terms, should I be able to execute an exe that was found on the machine ? Maybe mySQL is not a good example because I'm guessing there is more than 1 app invovled in getting the client gui running. I also installed Cream for VIM and was able to simply set an application shortcut by calling "cream" as the command argument. Should most applications run in this manner? Or are there only certain ones that can be started from the Run menu or via a command line arg in an Application link. Lastly, if I want to install something thats not found in adept - for example a current version of Eclipse or some rpm of some sort - where can I find instructions on how to do that? Too many question! But I'm loving Kubuntu its way nice.

[underpope]

Re: Absolute Newbie Question

Hi.

Generally, with Linux, you don't launch applications by clicking on the application icon in the Konqueror window; you execute them from the command line, assuming your user account has execute privileges on the program. So, for example, to launch a program, you would open up a terminal window (K Menu > System > Konsole) and type:

$ /path/to/program

If it's a program that can only be used by root, do this:

$ sudo /path/to/program

and enter your password at the prompt.

With regards to MySQL specifically, the software you should have installed is mysql-admin. Once you download and install that through Adept, you can execute it from the command line like this:

$ mysql-admin

and run it normally.

If you want to put an executable link on your desktop, right-click on the desktop and click on "Link to Application..." It whould walk you right through the process.

Adding a program to the K menu is not as simple, but you can get started by right-clicking on the K menu and then clicking on Menu Editor. Where to go from there is left as an exercise to the reader (since I'm feeling lazy today).

And as for downloading apps not listed in Adept: most software will have installation instructions on their websites. Generally, you want to install .deb packages; you can do this by downloading the .deb file, then right-clicking on it and clicking on "Install" (I think; I don't have an example in front of me). You'll have to enter your password before installing the software.

Sometimes, software is only available as source code in an archive file with the extension .tar or .gz. When this is the case, there are almost always installation instructions on the website, but the most general process is this:

1. Download the software

2. Open Konsole, and go to the directory where you downloaded the software to. If it's in /home/myHome/software, for example:

$ cd /home/myHome/software

3. Extract the .tar file (or .gz file):

$ tar xvf software.tar

or

$ tar xzvf software.tar (for .gz files)

4. Configure the software:

$ ./configure

5. Then compile and install.

$ make
$ sudo make install

If problems come up, you can usually get help from the software's website (a FAQ is usually available), from Google, from this forum, from a mailing list dedicated to the software, or perhaps (for smaller projects) from the developer him- or herself.

Eclipse may be a special case, since it's a Java app and you may have to go through some extra hoops to get Java up and running. Because Kubuntu is based on Debian, and the Debian Project might have some issues with Sun's proprietary Java interpreter, the Sun JVM may not be available. You can usually use one of the free alternatives, available in Adept, without too much trouble (I'm not a Java developer, so I'm not positive about this).

Hope that helps. Good luck, and have fun with Kubuntu.