Linux Software
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A great deal of Linux software is currently available from online sources. You can download applications for desktops, Internet servers, office suites, and programming packages, among others. Several centralized repositories make it easy to locate an application and find information about it. Of particular note are sourceforge.net, freshmeat.net, rpmfind.net, and apps.kde.com.
Software packages are distributed in compressed archives or in RPM packages. RPM packages are those archived using the Red Hat Package Manager. Compressed archives have an extension such as .tar.gz or .tar.Z, whereas RPM packages have an .rpm extension. For Red Hat Fedora Core, you can update to the latest Red Hat RPM package versions of software from their Fedora Yum repository using the Red Hat Update Agent (see Chapter 4). For Red Hat Enterprise Linux, you can automatically download upgrades for your system using the Red Hat Network described. Also, any RPM package that you download directly, from whatever site, can be installed easily with the click of a button using the redhat-config-packages tool on either the GNOME or KDE desktop. You could also download the source version and compile it directly on your system. This has become a simple process, almost as simple as installing the compiled RPM versions.
Red Hat also has a large number of mirror sites from which you can download their software packages for current releases. Most Linux Internet sites that provide extensive software archives have mirror sites, such as www.kernel.org, that hold the new Linux kernels. If you have trouble connecting to a main FTP site, try one of its mirrors. Red Hat also hosts open source projects at sources.redhat.com.
The following tables list different sites for Linux software. Repositories and archives for Linux software are listed in Table 1-3, along with several specialized sites, such as those for commercial and game software. When downloading software packages, always check to see if versions are packaged for your particular distribution. For example, rpmfind.net, freshmeat.net, andsourceforge.net are also good places for locating RPM packages.
| URL | Internet Site |
|---|---|
| sourceforge.net | SourceForge, open source software development sites for Linux applications and software repository |
| fedora.redhat.com/updates | Red Hat Fedora Yum repository for Fedora updates, with released and testing versions |
| www.linuxgames.com | Linux games |
| www.gnome.org | GNOME applications |
| apps.kde.org | KDE software repository |
| freshmeat.net | New Linux software |
| www.linuxlinks.org | Linux links |
| filewatcher.org | Linux FTP site watcher |
| www.tldp.org/links.html | Linux links |
| rpmfind.net | RPM package repository |
| www.gnu.org | GNU archive |
| linux.duke.edu/projects/yum | Yellowdog Updater, Modified (Yum) update tool, with listings of Yum repositories for updating Red Hat Fedora Core Linux |
| www.blackdown.org | Web site for Linux Java |
| apt-rpm.tuxfamily.org | APT-RPM Red Hat repository for APT-enabled RPM packages (see Chapter 4) |
| sources.redhat.com | Open source software hosted by Red Hat |
Linux Office and Database Software
Many professional-level databases and office suites are now available for Linux. These include Oracle and IBM databases as well as the OpenOffice and K Office suites. Table 1-4 lists sites for office suites and databases. Many of these sites provide free personal versions of their software for Linux, and others are entirely free. You can download from them directly and install on your Linux system.
| URL | Database |
|---|---|
| www.oracle.com | Oracle database |
| www.sybase.com | Sybase database |
| www.software.ibm.com/data/db2/linux | IBM DB2 database |
| www-3.ibm.com/software/data/informix/ | Informix database |
| www.softwareag.com | Adabas D database |
| www.mysql.com | MySQL database |
| www.ispras.ru/~kml/gss | GNU SQL database |
| www.postgresql.org | PostgreSQL database |
| www.fship.com/free.html | FlagShip (interface for xBase database files) |
| koffice.kde.org | Katabase (KOffice desktop database) |
| sourceforge.net/projects/gaby/ | Gaby (GNOME desktop personal database) |
| Office Software | |
| koffice.kde.org | KOffice |
| /wwws.sun.com/software/star/staroffice/ | StarOffice |
| www.openoffice.org | OpenOffice |
| www.gnome.org/gnome-office | GNOME Office project |
Internet Servers
One of the most important features of Linux, as of all Unix systems, is its set of Internet clients and servers. The Internet was designed and developed on Unix systems, and Internet clients and servers, such as those for FTP and the Web, were first implemented on BSD versions of Unix. DARPANET, the precursor to the Internet, was set up to link Unix systems at different universities across the nation. Linux contains a full set of Internet clients and servers including mail, news, FTP, and Web, as well as proxy clients and servers. Sites for Internet server software available for Linux are listed in Table 1-5. Most of these are already included on the Red Hat DVD-ROM included with this book; however, you can obtain news, documentation, and recent releases directly from the server's Web sites.
| URL | Servers |
|---|---|
| www.apache.org | Apache Web server |
| www.proftpd.org | ProFTPD FTP server |
| www.isc.org | Internet Software Consortium: BIND, INN, and DHCPD |
| www.sendmail.org | Sendmail mail server |
| www.squid.org | Squid proxy server |
| www.samba.org | Samba SMB (Windows network) server |
| www.eudora.com/qpopper | Qpopper POP3 mail server |
| www.netfilter.org | IP Tables firewall |
| www.netfilter.org/ipchains | IP Chains firewall |
| www.ssh.com | Secure Shell encryption |
| web.mit.edu/kerberos/www | Kerberos network authentication protocol |
| www.openssh.com | Open Secure Shell (free version of SSH) |
Development Resources
Linux has always provided strong support for programming languages and tools. All distributions include the GNU C and C++ compiler (gcc) with supporting tools such as make. Most distributions come with full development support for the KDE and GNOME desktops, letting you create your own GNOME and KDE applications. You can also download the Linux version of the Java Software Development Kit for creating Java programs. Perl and Tcl/TK versions of Linux are also included with most distributions. You can download current versions from their Web sites. Table 1-6 lists different sites of interest for Linux programming.
| URL | Internet Sites |
|---|---|
| www.gnu.org | Linux compilers and tools (gcc) |
| dev.scriptics.com | Tcl Developer Xchange, Tcl/Tk products |
| java.sun.com | Sun Java Web site |
| www.perl.com | Perl Web site with Perl software |
| www.blackdown.org | Sun's Java Software Development Kit for Linux |
| developer.gnome.org | GNOME developer's Web site |
| www.openprojects.nu | Open Projects Network |
| developer.kde.org | Developer's library for KDE |
| www.linuxcare.org | Linux open source software support |
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