Re: How to download a package?

[ktb <ktb@nixnotes.org>]

On Wed, Apr 25, 2001 at 09:54:42AM -0400, - wrote:
> This may seem like a stupid question but how do you download a Debian
> package?
> (Yes, I'm a really low level newbie)
>  My hangup concerns these preliminaries before performing a
> download.....
> 
>  1.   Should all downloads be done by  root user or can any user do it?
> 
>  2.   What directory should be set as the active directory in the
> command line?
> 
>  I've done a lot of web searching, read many books and haven't found any
> information about preparation BEFORE downloading a package..  I have
> downloaded a few packages as root user and downloaded to root's home
> directory ' /root' but haven't yet tried installing because it just
> doesn't seem right to do it from  /root for fear of screwing up the
> system.  I know how to move a package to a different directory if that
> will help, but to which directory?
> 
> Is /root a good directory to download into or is there a better choice?
> 
> It seems that Debian has some good commands for downloading packages but
> here again, what preliminary preparations such as mentioned above are
> recommended?
> 
> Am I tilting at windmills?
> 

Downloaded deb packages can be installed with -
# dpkg -i <package.deb>

I would recommend you read the man page for "apt-get" installing a
package can be as easy as -
# apt-get install <package_name>

In regards to your other question.  I usually download programs as a
regular user into my home directory and then move them to /usr/src to
install.  I'm talking about non debian source code here.  Debs can be
installed from anywhere in your directory tree, as root.
kent

-- 
 From seeing and seeing the seeing has become so exhausted
     First line of "The Panther" - R. M. Rilke