Finding Software Packages

Where do you get software/packages?

You can get Linux software in a huge range of forms (as the preceding page about installers should have made clear). You can get complete groups of software that are all required for a single application: for instance, all the libraries, daemons and interfaces necessary to run MySQL. Or if you’re a hardcore developer, you can compile and install your choice of specific versions of all of the above, to build your own custom application.

 

“Just Plain RPMs”

There are lots of sites that offer RPM packages:

FreshRPMs at http://freshrpms.net/ caters to Fedora and some YellowDoc platforms.

RPM Search at http://rpm.pbone.net/ offers RPMs for a huge range of distros. Be sure to use the Advanced Search.

 

Lots of Applications

FreshMeat.net is the prince of free software projects, at http://freshmeat.net/. It’s easy to use, and the Search feature actually works when it comes to finding what you need.

The King of Open Source Application Repositories is undeniably Sourceforge, at http://sourceforge.net/. Looking for the truly bleeding-edge, the astonishing, the Godzilla programming? These are the people who are doing it. Some of them are doing documentation, too, but don’t count on it. Don’t worry; Google will take care of you.

You might consider Icewalkers.com at http://www.icewalkers.com/ as a very reasonable compromise of the above two. A geek’s paradise, this site offers WAY more than just packages. Not to be missed: check out the Best Rated link.

Feeling greedy yet? Now visit the LinuxForums.org’s download page at http://dir.linuxforums.org/. The array of software goodies is most tasty, but what you’re going to appreciate longer-term is the eponymous forums. There really are cool people there.

The search function may not seem as user-friendly initially, but Ibiblio.org has a huge repository of packages. You’ll need to figure out what they are elsewhere, though, because you’re going to land in a directory full of obscurely-named files sooner or later. If you know what you’re looking for, go to http://ibiblio.org/.

A cool Czech/English site, http://www.linuxsoft.cz/en/, has a heavy-duty selection of packages, how-tos and interviews that’s more interesting than some magazines I’ve followed.

LinuxLinks.com has a great page at http://linuxlinks.com/Software/ with literally thousands of packages.

Not a repo in itself, LinuxQuestions.org at http://www.linuxquestions.org/ is often the first place you should visit when you’re not quite sure what a package is called or which one works on your distry. Highest recommendation from me.