How do I install software that came in tar.bz2 format?

[ayuda!]

I was able to extract the contents of the tar.bz2 file, but I don't what I'm supposed to do now. I know I have to do something with command lines but that's all. I couldn't find any guide on google that was simple enough to understand. The first time I ever even used a command line was to check the md5sum for puppy linux, which took me about an hour to figure out.

Can someone explain the installation proccess in a way that assumes no prior knowledge and is as dumbed-down as possible?

[disciple]

If it is a binary package you probably just need to extract it into the right place in the filesystem.
If it is a source package (more likely), check out http://puppylinux.com/development/compileapps.htm
The standard Puppy iso doesn't actually include a compile environment.

BTW if you post a link to it, someone like me might compile it for you
Also, make sure you search the forum first, to see if someone has packaged it for Puppy already.

[ayuda!]

So that would probably explain why I get "C compiler can not be located" (or something like that) when I try to ./configure.

I tried to find the devx.420.sfs and I couldn't find it. I tried wondering aimlessly through all the directories, and searching for "devx" and got no results, even a file search for ".sfs" came up with nothing. In What directory is the devx file that I need located?

I'll try searching the forums, I thought every program that was ready for Puppy was in the Package Manager. But it'd still be nice to know how to do something as basic as a installing a program on my own.

[pcampbell87]

Try this thread for a great how-to on making puppy packages...

http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=35507

The devx_xxx.sfs files are available here...

http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/dis ... modules-4/

[ayuda!]

after typing

# cp -a --remove-destination ./* /mnt/sda1/

I get

cp: missing destination file operand after `./*/mnt/sda1/'
Try `cp --help' for more information.

after typing in `cp --help' my computer beeped and the command line just gave me a > and nothing else.

I think that maybe I'm not supposed to type in the * but something else. But I have no idea what I'm doing.

[Bruce B]

I've never seen right instructions for doing it anyway.

People who publish instructions like this should ideally know what they are doing and why they are doing it.

Anyone responsible for publishing these type of commands care to step up to the plate and demonstrate they know what they are doing and why?

When you get the > after hitting the enter, you should be able to Ctrl+C to get the # back.

As for how much damage was done, if any, I can't say.

[ayuda!]

I don't think I can do this. Are there any puplets that already have devx installed? I just installed puppy a few days ago and don't have anything to back up so it's no problem for me to format my harddrive and reinstall puppy.

[Bruce B]

Installing the devx files

Puppy Frugal Install

We would typically install Frugal in a directory. As example /dingo
This directory would normally contain, pup_save.2fs, pup_400.sfs, vmlinuz and initrd.gz and maybe a marker file IDEHD or something like that.

You would download devx_xxx.sfs to / of the Puppy partition, where / means one level above the dingo directory

Where all xxx = your Puppy version.

When you boot Puppy, it should find the devx_xxx.sfs file and add it to the 'layered' filesystem with your approval. Meaning no install per se on your part.

Puppy Full Install

I like Full Installs and am a veteran user. The devx_xxx.sfs file would be ignored by the Full Install as it is a single layer filesystem.

Therefore the devx_xxx.sfs would need to be merged with the single layer directory tree.

We have standard instructions for doing this in many places. They are not good instructions, I would not use them. But the fact is they are the standard by preponderance of repetition and full approval by respected Puppians.

You can use those instructions if you want as it would be hard if not impossible to find other instructions.

[disciple]

Are there any puplets that already have devx installed?

Yes, although off the top of my head I'm not sure which ones... except the one Mark uploaded the other day which includes Mono:
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=40567
It is better just to use the sfs though - it should be easy.

You would download devx_xxx.sfs to / of the Puppy partition, where / means one level above the dingo directory

Sorry Bruce, but that is a rather confusing description.
You want to put it in the top of the partition Puppy is installed in, which is not /
It is somewhere like /mnt/sda1
It goes there regardless of whether your save file is in /mnt/sda1 OR /mnt/sda1/dingo. It does not seem to work if you put it in the dingo subfolder... which is what Bruce was saying.
The sda1 could be something else e.g. sda2 or sdc1.

[Bruce B]

You would download devx_xxx.sfs to / of the Puppy partition, where / means one level above the dingo directory.

devx_xxx.sfs as an example, doesn't exist does it?. So with this understanding, we might qualify it by saying where xxx is same as your puppy version

considering / does not exist anywhere except from a relative perspective, I qualified it as meaning one level above the dingo directory

. . . and you don't get it at all.

If we put it one level above the dingo directory which was also qualified, I argue we put it in the proper relative location.

I don't see aydua! asking for clarification. But I'd be more than happy to help and try to clarify if that were the case, but it is not.

I do think you did not read a full qualified sentence, maybe half a sentence.

I'm not a professional author, you are not my English teacher or my grammar checker. But if there is any sincerity in you about this, then how about you . . .

DO IT BETTER . . .

. . .to keeps others like you from also becoming confused.

I've had your criticism before and you go on and on fault finding and never relent.

I do not care that you can be a grammar checker. Or imagine others confused. Or think yourself the man.

If any of this bothers you, simple put words together in a way so people can understand better. And that is easy, considering I profess no particular skill with words, or even think I have much ability there.

[ayuda!]

alright, I have no idea how but somehow I managed to install devx. It took a few days but I finally did it. Now for my next problems.

In order to install Audacity(audio recorder program) I need to install WXwidget, so I downloaded it's source code and unpackaged it. The instructions for installation are...

> mkdir buildgtk
> cd buildgtk
> ../configure --with-gtk
> make
> su <type root password>
> make install
> ldconfig


the first 2 steps went fine but when I type "../configure --with-gtk" I get "bash: ../configure: No such file or directory". I thought maybe the two .. were a typo, but ./configure shows the same thing when I try that.

Another program I've been trying to install from source is Anki(flash card program). The instructions were very simple. Go to the directory with the Anki source and type ./anki. When I did that, I get the following message.

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "./anki", line 18, in <module>
import ankiqt
File "/root/src/anki-0.9.9.7.2/ankiqt/__init__.py", line 5, in <module>
from PyQt.QtCore import *
ImportError: No module named PyQt4.QtCore

I don't even know what a module is, what does this all mean?


This doesn't have anything to do with installing from source, but I don't think these questions warrants posting another thread. How do I modify the contents of the toolbar(I think that's what it's called)? I want to remove the clock and a few other things but don't know how.

Also how do I type foreign accent marks in linux? The methods I used with windows98 doesn't work.

[Bruce B]

looks like Mark has one here, you may not need to compile your own

http://dotpups.de/puppy4/dotpups/Programming/

And your PyQt is there also, maybe, if you are lucky, you can just download, point and click :)

[ayuda!]

I successfully installed WX widget, but afterwards it listed off about a dozen different dependencies that were missing, so I think this might be part of my problem.

When I try to compile Audacity, it's starts compiling correctly then it stops and says, configure: error: "Could not find wx-config: is wxWidgets installed? is wx-config in your path?"

Do I need to move something into path, do I need to find and download the missing dependencies?

And with Anki I get...

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "./anki", line 18, in <module>
import ankiqt
File "/root/src/anki-o.9.9.7.2/ankiqt/__init__.py", line 5, in <module
from PyQt.QtCore import *
ImportError: libQTCore.so.4: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

I had succesfully downloaded PyQTCore, but Puppy told me that it was missing a dependency called libmspack.so.0.

[disciple]

When I try to compile Audacity, it's starts compiling correctly then it stops and says, configure: error: "Could not find wx-config: is wxWidgets installed? is wx-config in your path?"

The wxwidgets package probably doesn't include the developer files.
There are several wxwidgets packages around that are accompanied by developer files, including the one I posted when I compiled Audacity not long ago. Note that wxwidgets is annoying because things have to be run with a version compiled with the same options as the wxwidgets they were compiled against. My packages are therefore incompatible with most other Puppy packages for wxwidgets, as I compiled with the options I needed to run the Fedora package of Hugin

Do I need to move something into path, do I need to find and download the missing dependencies?

You probably need to find a wx package that includes developer files. WxGtk is not hard to compile, so you could compile it yourself, but then we might end up with another set of wx packages with different options again.

BTW there are several recent packages of Audacity for Puppy, although I haven't noticed the most recent beta.

y told me that it was missing a dependency called libmspack.so.0

If you search the forum you'll see a link to a pet package. If you search Google you'll find a link to the homepage, if you want to compile it yourself

[ayuda!]

I can't install libmspack.so.0 I couldn't find any pup file, and (again) I fail to compile from source. When I try ./compile, I get bash: ./configure: no such file or directory. I think this might be because there is no file called configure in the source, as there are in all the other sources I've downloaded.

Also, a program that I installed from a pup file called ZSNES works, but quite poorly, and I checked and found that it's missing a dependency called GL library. After some searching I think I need openGL library, but I couldn't find a puppy file, and on the website there are quite alot of different things to download, and I don't know which one I need. Here's a link, http://www.opengl.org/products/platform/C6/ Which file should I download for puppy?

[muggins]

For libmspack.so.0 see this thread.

Regarding the GL library try installing the full xorg here:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/dis ... -7.3-1.pet

Also, sometimes these programs are looking for libGL specifically in /usr/lib, rather than /usr/X11R7/lib. This is easily resolved by symlinks. You might also need to symlink /usr/X11R7/include/GL to /usr/include.

[disciple]

FYI re

I think this might be because there is no file called configure in the source, as there are in all the other sources I've downloaded

That is exactly what it is saying
There is a lot of variety in the way different packages are built. They do usually include instructions in a file called README or INSTALL or something.