Reference Guide to Finding, Installing & Running Linux Applications

Getting Started with Linux Apps

Getting started with Linux applications can be mind boggling, considering the thousands of applications that are available to you for each distro. So to set you on the right path, Tolga Balci opens up with a best practice guide which talks you through the basics of Linux application setup. He also explains how to install and uninstall applications cleanly using package managers: Linux Tips for Everyone: Using Applications in Linux.

Windows Apps on Linux Thanks to a Fine WINE

As more people are becoming computer savvy, getting more comfortable with the machinations of I.T. as a way of life, and as Microsoft does it's best to sap the will out of our PC architecture (did somebody say Vista), the OS level becomes less intimidating to personalize based on individual preference. As a result, more PC users are experimenting with Linux. However still there is a perceived weakness of Linux that all those tried and trusted, familiar Windows apps won't run. That's not necessarily true, as Chelsea McGuire discusses in her article Will Windows Software Work on Linux?

Searching for Linux Applications

From a simple search to application installation, Tolga explains how easy it is to find Linux applications. Complex or basic, bespoke or standardized, if you want to find specific applications for your needs, this handy reference guide will point you in the right direction: Finding the Linux Software You Want.

Package Managers & Source Code Installation

Linux package managers and source installations are the two methods of installing Linux applications. In this how-to guide, Adam Romeo explains just how easy it is to install Linux apps. Discussing the simplicity of installing apps from source, and installing apps from a package manager, How to Install Software in Linux: Source vs. Package Manager makes it all straightforward, even for those most contented of Windows users.

Following the theme of package management, Pranav Thadeshwar explores the popular places to find the best (and free) Linux software in his article, Finding Free Linux Software - Package Managers and Online.

Tolga Balci on the other hand discusses what to do when software is only available in source code. Providing a step-by-step guide to installing software from source in an rpm based distro: Installing Software from Source Code in an RPM-based Linux Distribution.

Top Package Managers

Looking at the best package managers currently in operation, Pranav Thadeshwar takes us through one of the most popular distros, Debian, with its exceptional package management system, dpkg and APT. Explaining why they are so good and how to use them effectively: Package Management in Debian Using dpkg and APT.

And no package management discussion would be complete without reference to the ad-hoc, multi-package manager setup of Ubuntu. Here Ally Chevalier looks at the new Ubuntu App Center. The most popular distro now coming with a fully integrated package manager, if not a one stop shop, then certainly worth a look: Ubuntu App Center: The Future Of Package Management Application Areas of Linux

Application Development

Defining the concept of a package manager, Tolga Balci presents some quality examples of good package managers, before offering his opinion on what it would take to build the perfect package manager to cater for all tastes, in his article Perfect Package Management.

In a further piece Tolga takes a look at developing your own Linux application, porting Windows code and choosing an integrated development environment, in this comprehensive look at Developing an Application for the Linux Desktop.