Non-root user

[BluePanther]

Hello everyone. (:
I have Linux Slackware, but I'm not the root/admin, my father is. So he installes all the softwares I want for me too. But the problem is he travelles a lot and mostly he's not at home.
So I thought ... maybe can I install softwarers by myself, without root rights? From a friend I heard I cannot but I'm still askining, cause I'm not sure. I googled but nothing interesting found.

Anyways, thanks and sorry for the noob question. ;D

[oz]

Welcome to the forums!

You must have root privileges to install software on a system-wide basis under Linux, but some software can be installed in the user's /home folder without requiring root privileges. Check this HowTo for some options that might work for you.

[Rubberman]

You can also see if he is willing to make you a 'sudoer' so you can install programs with sudo when he is gone. You should have an agreement with him though, that you will document all the stuff you do with 'sudo'. That will help sort out any problems you cause as a result.

[druidmatrix]

As long as you have the source code and the linux dev tools (make, gcc, etc.) are installed on the box, you can almost always build it in your home directory and run it as yourself. The exceptions to this are if the binary tries to open up privileged ports (<1024). In that case, you have no option but sudo as Rubberman pointed out.

[Rubberman]

As long as you have the source code and the linux dev tools (make, gcc, etc.) are installed on the box, you can almost always build it in your home directory and run it as yourself. The exceptions to this are if the binary tries to open up privileged ports (<1024). In that case, you have no option but sudo as Rubberman pointed out.

Good point. That would give him some experience in configuring and building applications from source - a useful ability, IMO.