Installing Software in Ubuntu

Introduction

Most Windows users who migrate to Ubuntu end up confused about software installation. They go to a website, download a .tar.gz file, double-click it, and don't see a Next-Next-Next-Finish wizard. This tutorial is intended to introduce you to the preferred methods of software installation in Ubuntu.

Rather than leaving it up to the user to track down installer files and keep applications updated, Ubuntu (like many other Linux distributions) has a software package management system that provides a searchable database of easily installable applications (like an online shopping cart but the software is cost-free), which it will download and install for you with a few clicks.

Installing 101: Add/Remove
The best place to start with this package management process is to use a simple interface for it called Add/Remove.

  
Start by going to Applications and selecting Add/Remove. Add/Remove will then check to see what applications are installed and/or available for installation.

 
The default filter shows Supported applications only. These are the official packages released by Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu.

Third party applications can be maintained by the Ubuntu user community or an outside business.

All Open Source applications will show the software that isn't proprietary.

Probably, when you're starting out, you want to show All available applications, just so you have the largest selection of software to choose from.

  
You then have the option to search and/or browse for applications. In this case, I searched for hearts to find the card game Hearts. Since it's in the community-maintained online software repository, and this is the first time I'm accessing that repository, Add/Remove will confirm with me that I want to Enable it.

   
Then, to install Hearts, I check (or tick) the box next to the program, click Apply, enter my password, and click OK.

   
Add/Remove will then fetch the installer files, install the files, and then let you know when the software is installed. Afterwards, it gives you the option to start the application you just installed, add or remove more applications, or just close Add/Remove.

Advanced interface: Synaptic Package Manager
Another interface for the package manager is Synaptic. Synaptic works very similarly to Add/Remove, but it has more advanced options. It allows you more categories and custom filters, and shows you supporting libraries (not just user applications).

  
To access Synaptic, go to System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager. Then enter your password and click OK

   
You can click the Search button or press Control-F to search for software. Once you've found the software you want to install, right-click it and mark it for installation.

    
Once you've marked all the software packages you want to install (or remove, too), click Apply, confirm by clicking Apply when prompted, and then wait for the package files to download and install. Once they've installed, click Close.

Manual download: .deb
Most of the time, if you need software, you can use Add/Remove or Synaptic to install it from the online repositories. Sometimes, software is not available in the repositories, and you have to go to a website to download it. If you are able to download a file with a .deb extension, this is the software package format Ubuntu prefers.

   
For example, Skype is not in the default Ubuntu repositories, so you can go to the Skype website, and download the Ubuntu package.

Note: Skype doesn't always update their Ubuntu packages. So, for example, in this screenshot Skype lists the installer file as being for Ubuntu 7.04, but I'm using Ubuntu 8.04. Opera, on the other hand, even if it hasn't changed its browser version numbers will have all the Ubuntu release versions to choose from. Try to select whichever version seems most appropriate.

    
Once the .deb file is on your desktop, double-click it to install it. You'll be prompted for your password, and then you can just wait for it to install.

 
You should then be able to use Skype or whatever application you installed.

Last resorts: .rpm and .tar.gz
The preferred way to install software in Ubuntu is to use the package manager, which you can access through Add/Remove or Synaptic. As we've seen with Skype, sometimes you can also find a .deb for software not in the repositories. But what if you can't find a .deb?

.rpm
If you can't find a .deb, you can try a .rpm. These files are packaged for other Linux distributions (usually Fedora or Mandriva), but there is an application called alien (which you can install using Synaptic) that allows you (most of the time) to convert .rpm files to .deb. Read more about this process.

.tar.gz
As a last resort, you can download a .tar.gz file. The .tar.gz file extension indicates the file is a compressed set of files and folders (the compressed files you see in Windows usually have a .zip extension). If you see the .tar.gz, it could be compressed files that have a precompiled binary file, or it could be compressed files that have the source code allowing you to compile the application from source.