howto install applications for multiple users

[tlos]

Hi there all,

I'm quite new to Linux and wanted ask how I can install applications to any Linux distribution such as Debian or Red Hat so that multiple users can access and run that application. Should I be root to install applications to directories like /var, /opt ?
If anybody would have any ideas to share, I would be appreciative to hear. Thanks...

[Cabhan]

To do this, you will need superuser access, which means that you either have sudo permissions, or you know the root password and can directly change to the root account with su.

If you are using your distribution's package management software (yum, apt, etc.), then when you install a package, you are installing it for the entire system, and everyone has access. So that is very easy.

If you are installing from source, software will usually install by default into /usr or /usr/local, which are also readable by every user on the system.

The more difficult task is actually how to install software for just a single user. I'm sure that package management tools can be set up to do this, but the way that I usually do it is to download the source code, and when I run "./configure", I use the "--prefix" option to tell it to install somewhere in my home directory. If you do this, a) other users can't see the software, and b) you don't need superuser permissions.

There is no need to use /opt. /usr and /usr/local are accessible by everyone.

[tlos]

Thanks a lot for your reply. According to your relpy, if I have superuser access, like being root, then I can install it under /usr. But I want to ask you something that if you are installing applications in root account, would it be a risky thing to do? I mean, would it cause any system-wide problems which may result in a problem like reinstallation of linux?

[elija]

You will need root permissions, either as the root user or using sudo to write to any directory outside of your home. Even when installing through your package manager. The only risk comes when installing a piece of software you have downloaded from the Internet and from a site that you don't know can be trusted. Depending on the distro, you should be able to get most software from the repositories and the risk in that case is negligible. Both Debian and Red Hat have huge repositories although the software may not be the latest and greatest versions.

As a side note, I prefer to use /opt to install software that I haven't got through the package manager. I don't have to but it keeps things tidy.

[tlos]

Thanks a lot for your reply. I learnt what I needed to thanks to both replies. Thank you.