Chapter 6

Software and Packaging

The way you obtain software in Ubuntu -- and in many other Linux distributions -- is different from how you would do it in other popular operating systems. In Ubuntu all software is archived and organized in virtual warehouses called "repositories". The repositories are maintained by Ubuntu staff, which is why they are not only more organized than the other ways of getting software, but also more secure; the staff members classify software in categories to make it easier for you to find what you are looking for and make sure that it is malware-free.

However, you can also obtained software in the old-fashioned way. You can install software in Ubuntu the way you do in other operating systems: downloading installers, or wizards. These are known as "debs" and are inherited from Ubuntu's ascendant, Debian.

Software Management

Software Center

The Software Center is the main application in Ubuntu where you can get software right off from the repositories. In this release of Ubuntu, the Ubuntu Software Center is only able to install user applications; however, in the future it will be capable of installing any package in the repositories.

Installing software with the Ubuntu Software Center is rather simple. When you open the Software Center it will display all the software categories available, by default. This way, you can sort applications depending on what they are used for. However, you can also filter through your current results by using the search box (to the upper right).

The Software Center will list only applications that are available in the software sources. You can open the Software Sources application through the "Edit" menu in the Software Center menubar. To find out more about Software Sources, read the respective section of this chapter.

Deb packages

Software Sources

Software Sources is the main application to administer the software available installable from your computer. Please read ahead to find out what you can do in every tab of this application's interface.

Ubuntu Software

Downloadable from the Internet

Here you can select which of the sources you will be able to access from your computer by ticking or unticking the respective check boxes.

Below you can find a combo box that will let you select your software mirror. All of the software mirrors are authorized by Ubuntu, thus secure.

Synaptic Package Manager

The Synaptic Package Manager is an older version of the Ubuntu Software Center. The advantage of this package is that it not only displays applications, in contrast with the Ubuntu Software Center, but rather lets you install any package in the Ubuntu repositories.