Where to install tarballed applications?

[TwoFistedJustice]

I need to install Webstorm, which comes in tarball form and is meant to be manually unpacked.

I know it can go in pretty much any folder and it will work.

But where is the "correct" location to put it?

[GreyGeek]

Many tarballs, once untarred, include either an install script or instructions to use the make command. If Webstorm contains either then they will direct the install. I downloaded a tar file of HDSentinel_GUI in order to keep track of my TWB for my two SSD drives. I used Dolphin and browsed to Downloads and click right mouse on the tar file and chose "Open in Ark" from the list of options presented. The tar file, as listed in Ark, showed:


You can see where the files are. Below is what is in the tar file:

It shows an "install.sh" script and an "uninstall.sh" script. If you delete this directory after you installed the app in the tar file and later decide to delete the app you will have yourself a problem trying to locate the files you need to delete. That's why you keep this folder containing the untarred package ... it has the uninstall script.

Since HDSentinel_GUI's install script was pre-coded to install the app files in specific cases the uninstall script knows where to find the files it should delete. IF your tar file used the make command against a "config", usually by issuing "make install". Later, if you want to ininstall the app you'd go to that folder containing the untarred package and issue "make uninstall".

Using a tarred package has become unusual for me. When installing packages not in the repository I now prefer AppImages. I have a subdirectory under Downloads titled "AppImages". Any AppImage I download I move to that sub-directory and then use Dolphin to mark its execute permission. I then create a link to it in the KDE Gear application list. The NEAT thing about appimages is that they do NOT touch your system. Everything they need is inside the appimage. IF, for example, you choose to install the appimage of FreeCad, for example, I can store my drawings within the image or outside of it. If I decided to remove FreeCad from my system I merely delete the AppImage. That's it. IF I stored my drawings inside the appimage they are deleted too, but if I stored them in another folder outside of FreeCad's appimage they are not deleted. Another neat thing about using appimages is that I can run them using firejail: "firejail FreeCad.AppImage" and FreeCad is trapped inside and if it contained maliciuous elements they won't be able to harm my system. Another nice feature of AppImages is that they DO NOT install a daemon that runs 24/7 on your system, the way snap or flatpak do. If those daemons don't bother you then Discover is a nice place to look for packages to install. It is another view on the repository and include files that are not in the repository, if what I've read is true.

[claydoh]

Also:
https://www.jetbrains.com/help/webstorm/installation-guide.html

https://linuxhint.com/install_jetbrains_webstorm_ubuntu/
Oops, this one may be out of date but the overall steps should be accurate.The executable to run after extracting may be different.



or this is a possible simpler alternative:
https://snapcraft.io/webstorm

[GreyGeek]

JetBrains' Webstorm is proprietary. It looks nearly identical to Spyder, which is in the repository.

I installed Spyder4 from the repository. Then I upgraded it to Spyder5 using

pip3 install --upgrade spyder

I added the Kite AI autocompletion tool using

bash -c "$(wget -q -O - https://linux.kite.com/dls/linux/current)"

The Kite website is down right now, when I just checked, but it may be up later.

I use Spyder5 for Python3 code work, and also Jupyter Notebook, which is also in the repository. In fact, I installed every Python3 module in the repository and several from outside sources. I mainly use pip3. (hint: sudo apt install python3-pip python3-wheel).
I have a total of 396 Python3 modules installed, including matplotlib, pandas, numpy, scikit-learn, bedfordlaw, pytorch, pyorbital and a load of others.
Jupyter Notebooks running Python3 is awesome.

[TwoFistedJustice]

I found this video helpful in getting to know the Linux file structure

Linux File System/Structure Explained!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbgzrKJvDRw