66 lines
4.1 KiB
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66 lines
4.1 KiB
HTML
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<!Converted with LaTeX2HTML 95.1 (Fri Jan 20 1995) by Nikos Drakos (nikos@cbl.leeds.ac.uk), CBLU, University of Leeds >
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<TITLE>4.7.4 Upgrading other software</TITLE>
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<meta name="description" value="4.7.4 Upgrading other software">
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<BR> <HR><A NAME=tex2html4094 HREF="node184.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="next" SRC="next_motif.gif"></A> <A NAME=tex2html4092 HREF="node179.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="up" SRC="up_motif.gif"></A> <A NAME=tex2html4088 HREF="node182.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="previous" SRC="previous_motif.gif"></A> <A NAME=tex2html4096 HREF="node1.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="contents" SRC="contents_motif.gif"></A> <A NAME=tex2html4097 HREF="node250.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="index" SRC="index_motif.gif"></A> <BR>
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<B> Next:</B> <A NAME=tex2html4095 HREF="node184.html">4.8 Managing Filesystems</A>
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<B>Up:</B> <A NAME=tex2html4093 HREF="node179.html">4.7 Upgrading and Installing </A>
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<B> Previous:</B> <A NAME=tex2html4089 HREF="node182.html">4.7.3 Upgrading gcc</A>
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<BR> <HR> <P>
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<H2><A NAME=SECTION00674000000000000000>4.7.4 Upgrading other software</A></H2>
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<P>
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Upgrading other software is usually just a matter of downloading the
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appropriate files and installing them. Most software for Linux is
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distributed at gzipped tar files, including either sources or binaries
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or both. If binaries are not included in the release, you may need
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to compile them yourself; usually, this means typing <tt>make</tt>
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in the directory where the sources are held.
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<P>
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<A NAME=4830> </A>
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Reading the USENET newsgroup <tt>comp.os.linux.announce</tt> for
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announcements of new software releases is the easiest way to find
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out about new software. Whenever you are looking for software on
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an FTP site, downloading the <tt>ls-lR</tt> index file from the FTP
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site and using <tt>grep</tt> to find the files in question is the
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easiest way to locate software. If you have <tt>archie</tt> available
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to you, it can be of assistance as well<A NAME=tex2html842 HREF="footnode.html#4854"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="gif" SRC="foot_motif.gif"></A>. See Appendix <A HREF="node225.html#appinfo">A</A> for more
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details.
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<P>
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One handy source of Linux software is the Slackware distribution disk
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images. Each disk contains a number of <tt>.tgz</tt> files which are
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simply gzipped tar files. Instead of downloading the disks, you can
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download the desired <tt>.tgz</tt> files from the Slackware directories
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on the FTP site and install them directly. If you run the Slackware
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distribution, the <tt>setup</tt> command can be used to automatically
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load and install a complete series of disks.
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<P>
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Again, it's usually not a good idea to upgrade by reinstalling with
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the newest version of Slackware, or another distribution. If you reinstall
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in this way, you will no doubt wreck your current installation, including
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user directories and all of your customized configuration. The best way
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to upgrade software is piecewise; that is, if there is a program that
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you use often that has a new version, upgrade it. Otherwise, don't bother.
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Rule of thumb: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. If your current software
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works, there's no reason to upgrade.
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<A NAME=4844> </A>
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<A NAME=4845> </A>
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<P>
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<BR> <HR><A NAME=tex2html4094 HREF="node184.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="next" SRC="next_motif.gif"></A> <A NAME=tex2html4092 HREF="node179.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="up" SRC="up_motif.gif"></A> <A NAME=tex2html4088 HREF="node182.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="previous" SRC="previous_motif.gif"></A> <A NAME=tex2html4096 HREF="node1.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="contents" SRC="contents_motif.gif"></A> <A NAME=tex2html4097 HREF="node250.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="index" SRC="index_motif.gif"></A> <BR>
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<B> Next:</B> <A NAME=tex2html4095 HREF="node184.html">4.8 Managing Filesystems</A>
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<B>Up:</B> <A NAME=tex2html4093 HREF="node179.html">4.7 Upgrading and Installing </A>
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<B> Previous:</B> <A NAME=tex2html4089 HREF="node182.html">4.7.3 Upgrading gcc</A>
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<BR> <HR> <P>
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<BR> <HR>
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<P><ADDRESS>
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<I>Matt Welsh <BR>
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mdw@sunsite.unc.edu</I>
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</ADDRESS>
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</BODY>
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