Q I have just installed Debian 3.1 and everything seems OK. But then I tried to install the game SuperTux using the Autopackage installation. Everything seemed to work, but now when I try to start it up I get the following message:
bruno@tux:~$ supertux supertux: error while loading shared libraries: libSDL_image-1.2.so.0: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
Obviously I am missing something. But what?
A You are missing the SDL_image library. This is used often in games; so often that we have it in the Essentials directory of the DVD, although not as a Debian package. The easiest way to install this (or almost any other package) is to run Synaptic by selecting System > Package Manager (Synaptic Package Manager) from the K menu, click on Search and type sdl-image. Tick the box by the package and click Apply to install it. SuperTux should now run. If you ever have another program complain about a missing file, go to http://packages.debian.org and follow the link to Search The Contents Of Packages. This page is so useful it deserves a bookmark even if you don't use Debian, as it provides a good clue as to which package would contain a particular file in any Linux distribution.