Install Software into Ubuntu with Different Methods

When you are newbie to Linux operating system then it's common to face question like how to install application or software to Ubuntu or any other Debian based destros. When it comes to installing software on Ubuntu, you are not restricted to one method. There are plenty of ways of installing software on your Linux system including compiling the software code yourself.

In this blog, we will cover most of software installing method which you can use.

1. Ubuntu software center

Mostly people think Linux is only for geeks. who knows how to use terminal or entering bunch of commands. But not anymore, now days most of the operation you can perform on GUI.

Linux Software center is just like app store or play store in mobile. Where you simply search application then open specif application form listing and install it using clicks.

Installing software in the Ubuntu software center is simple. Select the package you wish to install then click the install button.

As per image you will see details of the software package and when you click install button it will start installation process.

2. Apt

APT is short for Advanced Package Tool, it is not just a package installer, it is a fully-fledged package manager. You can use APT to install, update, remove and even search for software packages, etc.

In Ubuntu most common and simple method to download software is using apt package manager tool. Sometimes some application can not available at Ubuntu software center but you can still download it using apt.

The apt is like other Linux command. While we are performing install and uninstall it requires super user permission with it to perform task.

To install :

    
sudo apt install nano
    

To uninstall software:

    
sudo apt-get remove nano
    

Downloadable packages

Another common method to install package is via downloading .deb package. First of all you download files from source server then manually install it.

You can install those files using various methods like below

• Install using APT
• Install using dpkg
• Install using GUI

Install using APT

After downloading you can simply install it via the APT command-line tool. First of all you need to navigate to that directory into terminal and then enter below command to start installation :

    
sudo apt install ./package_name.deb
    

Install using dpkg

Dpkg is the core software package tool on Debian-based Linux distros. Installing packages via dpkg is very simple and follows the following format.

    
sudo dpkg -i ./package_name.deb
    

Install using GUI

Just like windows .exe, you can install .deb software packages, simply by double-clicking the .deb file. It will open the file in the Ubuntu software center and then you just click install from the GUI menu and it will install particular package into system.

Once you’ve installed the software, you’re free to delete the downloaded .deb file.

5. Compiling source code

Linux provides you with all the necessary tools required to compile, build, and install software from the source code. But you'll need other packages such as curl and gettext. Depending on your Linux distro.

To install those packages you can use below single command :

    
sudo apt install libz-dev libssl-dev libcurl4-gnutls-dev libexpat1-dev gettext cmake gcc curl
    

After installing these packages go to your download location and check for configure file. The configure file checks for software dependencies for the package you want to compile, and you'll see an error message some dependencies are missing.

Configure and prepare your source code by executing the script. The command will create make files and configurations for the software that you are about to compile and install.

    
./configure
    

Now source code is configured and compile. You can build application with below command :

    
make
    

This command will create make files which contains steps to build software.

At last we will install our software using make install command.

    
sudo make install
    

It will install software to your system. Now you can run newly installed software as per requirement.

In this blog, we have looked five different methods to install any software into Ubuntu or any other Debian based Linux distributions except Ubuntu software center.