Easy Steps: How to Install Software from Tar gz in Linux

Well now, let me tell you somethin’ about fiddlin’ with them thingamajigs on that Linux machine. It ain’t as hard as milkin’ a cow with one hand, but it ain’t like clickin’ a button neither.

First off, you gotta get yourself them tools, like the ones for pullin’ stuff outta bags and puttin’ stuff together. You know, like when you’re gettin’ the seeds outta the cotton? Somethin’ like that. On them Ubuntu, Debian, and Mint machines, you gotta get the “tar extraction” and “compiling” tools. And if you’re on Fedora, CentOS, or AlmaLinux, it’s the same kinda deal, just different names maybe. Don’t ask me what them names is, the young’uns can tell ya.

• Important: Always make sure you know what you’re doin’ before you start fiddlin’ with these things. You don’t wanna break nothin’, right?

Now, this here file, it’s like a sack full of stuff. You gotta open it up and take everything out. Let’s say you wanna put all that stuff on your… whatchamacallit… desktop. Yeah, the desktop. You just right-click on that sack, I mean the file, and tell it to “extract” the stuff. It’ll ask ya where to put it, and you just tell it “desktop.” Simple as pie, ain’t it?

Sometimes, though, you gotta use that… what’s it called… command line thingy? Yeah, the Linux command line. It’s like talkin’ to the machine directly, but you gotta speak its language. You press them Ctrl, Alt, and T keys all at once, and this black screen pops up. Don’t be scared, it won’t bite ya. Then you type in somethin’ like this: tar xvzf *. See? Not so bad. That’s like tellin’ the machine to open the sack and put everything out.

But here’s the kicker. Sometimes, just takin’ the stuff outta the sack ain’t enough. Sometimes, you gotta put things together, like buildin’ a shed or somethin’. That’s called “compiling.” It’s like takin’ all the pieces of wood and hammerin’ them together to make somethin’ useful. This part can be tricky, mind you. You gotta follow the instructions that come with the stuff in the sack. Sometimes it’s just a few words, sometimes it’s a whole mess of ‘em. Just take it slow and read carefully, like you’re readin’ the Good Book.

Why would you wanna do all this fuss, you ask? Well, sometimes the stuff you want ain’t in them stores, you know, them “official repositories” they call ‘em. You gotta go get it yourself, from somewhere else. And it comes in these sacks. It lets you get things just the way you like ‘em, customize things, make it your own, you know?

So, let’s recap, shall we? You get the tools, you open the sack, you put the stuff together, if you need to, and then you got yourself some new stuff on your machine. It’s like bakin’ a cake, really. You gather the ingredients, mix them up, bake it, and then you get to enjoy it. Only difference is, this cake helps your machine do things, not your belly.

Remember this: Installing stuff from a file on Linux can be a bit tricky if you’re new to this whole computer thing. But don’t you worry, just take it one step at a time, and you’ll get the hang of it. It ain’t rocket science, I tell ya. It’s just like learnin’ to churn butter; it takes a little practice, but once you got it, you got it.

And that’s all there is to it. Now go on and try it yourself. Just be careful, and don’t go breakin’ nothin’. And if you get stuck, ask one of them young’uns for help. They know all about this stuff these days.

One last thing: Before you start messin’ around, make sure you got a backup. You know, just in case things go south. It’s like havin’ an extra pair of overalls when you’re workin’ in the fields. Better safe than sorry, I always say.

Tags: [Linux, *, install, software, command line, Ubuntu, Fedora, CentOS, compile]