Documentation< Previous | Contents | Next >
6.7. Installing a Single Package File
The preferred method of installing programmes is by using package managers. If some packages or files are not available, you can download and install them from Web sites. These files are associated with the package managers of specific Linux distributions and are referred to as single package files. Examples are Debian package files-.deb files and tarballs-.tar files.
Note:
You should download files that are not present in Ubuntu archives only from a safe source.
• Debian Package files: These files are associated with Ubuntu and have the .deb suffix.
• Tarballs: Zipped archive files that contain the source code of a programme. This source code needs to be compiled before use. Installing programmes by compiling them from source is not covered by this course.
Compiling and installing programmes from source tarballs can can be very complex to debug when things go wrong. Tarballs are simple structures which don't specify what dependencies are required to enable compilation to take place. For this reason it can also be time consuming and complex to determine the necessary dependencies and either install or compile them also. Compiling from tarball is therefore not covered on this course.
Note:
It is not guaranteed that the single package files will be compatible with your system. Also, you
will not receive security updates if you install these files. Therefore, wherever possible use a native Ubuntu package of the application available through a package manager.