Q I successfully installed Mandriva Linux alongside Windows. I have found myself getting frustrated with all the new things to learn. But I am sticking with it! The one thing I am really struggling with is installing software. I can't get to grips with RPMs/binary packages or using the console to install. Am I doing something wrong? I keep getting error messages when I try to install, like Libstdc++.so.5 issues. I have been told that the problem has to do with dependencies but I really don't get it.
A The basic RPM system is quite... well, basic. It will identify dependencies, but not actually do anything about them (a dependency is where one piece of software requires another in order to run). The software you are installing needs version 5 of the Libstdc++ (standard C++) library. You could go searching for an RPM of this, install that and then chase the next dependency, but Mandriva's installer will take care of all of this for you. If the package you are installing is on the Mandriva discs, you're better off using the Mandriva Control Center to install it from there. This will install the RPM package you want plus any dependencies. Even if you have downloaded a separate RPM from somewhere else, you can still use Mandriva's dependency handling by using its urpmi command instead of the basic RPM. For example:
sh armyops230-linux.run
The sh is needed because these installers are in fact shell scripts. Because Linux does not allow you to arbitrarily execute files, you can't just run it by typing its name as you would with a Windows .exe file.