Re: installation directory

[Bob McClure Jr <robertmcclure earthlink net>]

On Thu, Jan 02, 2003 at 07:16:25PM +0000, M A wrote:
> 
> HI,
> 
> I am new to linux. i have redhat 8.0 and i have a very simple question
> if i download a source code(not RPM package) for some software and i want 
> to installed using configure, make and make install.
> In what folder do the software get installed?

We don't do "folders"; we do directories. :-)  Seriously, most
software defaults (rightly) to installing in the /usr/local tree,
namely binaries in /usr/local/bin, libraries in /usr/local/lib, man
pages in /usr/local/man, etc.  You can override that in the
./configure step, but I don't recommend that.  I make /usr/local a
mount point for a separate partition, so that, if I have to do a
re-install, or otherwise clean house, my locally-made software will be
untouched.

> and what if i want to removed how can i do that?

I've seen very few packages that had an "uninstall" target in the make
file.  But, what you can do is run "make -n install", which doesn't
install, but shows you what it would do to install.  From that you can
figure out what needs to be removed from where.

> for example in windows most of the software get installed under program 
> files and you could remove it using add and remove from control panal.
> 
> i really thank you in advance for your help, and please forgive me that iam 
> still new to linux and really lost.

Don't forget the Fine Manuals in

http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-8.0-Manual/

and other documentation, including the very useful HOWTOs in the Linux
Documentation Project:

http://en.tldp.org/

Cheers,
-- 
Bob McClure, Jr.             Bobcat Open Systems, Inc.
robertmcclure earthlink net  http://www.cumbytel.com/~bobcatos/
Linux: because I want to get there today.  Without rebooting.