Re: [Pan-users] Re: compile ?

[Steven D'Aprano]

On Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:25:09 am Travis wrote:

[...]
> > tar -xvjf ~/Desktop/pan-0.133.tar.bz2
>
> I have .tar.gz and did just did what David Shochat said to do.

And the z option is correct for the file you have, but you typed the 
wrong file name. Sorry for the red herring.


> > Travis, I assume you're a little inexperienced with the Linux
> > command line, so I'll give you a couple of hints that may help in
> > the future:
> >
> > * The options mean:
> >  x = extract
> >  v = verbose (prints what it is doing)
> >  j = pass the file through bzip2 for decompression first
> >  f = use the file named next
>
> Little inexperienced is an understatement.
> Why would I want to print what I am doing?

Not print to a printer. With the v option, the tar program will print a 
list of files to the screen as it extracts them.


> > * You don't need to type the long file name, which is error prone.
> > As you type the command, when you get to pan- hit the TAB key on
> > your keyboard and the shell will try to auto-complete the file
> > name. (Of course you can copy and paste it too.)
>
> I'm reading these instructions on my Windows desktop and trying
> things on another desktop so copy and paste is not an option.

On your Linux machine, start by typing the command and the beginning of 
the file name:

tar -xvzf ~/Desktop/pan-

Now press the TAB key and the Linux shell will try to fill in the rest 
of the file name. If it can't, you may need to type an extra character 
or two, then try TAB again.

Then hit ENTER and away it goes.


> > * "tar --help" and "man tar" (without the quotes) will give you
> > lots of information about tar. Possibly too much :)
> >
> > * If you're running a modern version of Linux with a decent GUI
> > like KDE or Gnome, you should be able to just double-click the file
> > to get a nice GUI application to extract the files. The command
> > line is more powerful and flexible, except when it's not, but for a
> > single file there's nothing wrong with using a GUI.
>
> I'm running Ubuntu 8.10.

You probably should stick with the command line, because it will be 
easier for us to help you if you run into trouble.

But if you really want to use the GUI, I believe that Ubuntu defaults to 
the Gnome desktop. (Unlike Windows, in Linux you have a choice of 
desktops.) I try not to use Gnome, I dislike it, but double-clicking 
the file should work. Then just treat it as if it were like Winzip: 
look for an Extract All menu or button, and continue.



-- 
Steven D'Aprano