Total N00B Guide to: Installing KDE 3.2.3 on SuSE 9.1

[Xenocrates]

This guide is targetted primarily at newbies who have taken the plunge into linux via SuSE 9.1. If you are using another distro (why?!), this should still work, however you should ensure that you download the RPMs for your specific Distro and version. More on this later.

So you've installed SuSE 9.1. That was pretty easy right? Congratulations. That was just the first step. Now a number of people want to go nuts with their new environment and totally experiment with it. With respect to the GUI interface, you should be cognisant of two things:

1. Linux uses several front ends for the commandline kernel. Think of the interface you're greeted with as Windows 3.1 on top of DOS. It is essentially the same thing. KDE (think Windows 3.1 ) is run as an application, which is a subclass of an API known as X-Server (more specifically, XFree386). There are many other GUI applications as well which use the X-Server superclass. There is also GNOME and WindowMaker and many others. You can discover the different flavours of GUI front ends for Linux on your own.
   
   
2. KDE is by far the most popular of these front ends, and is also the most configurable. So until you become wickedly versed like Gillion, IGodit, Jamrock or Pigeonflight, you will be using KDE for a looong time. Ideally however, even when you've seen the rest of the GUI interfaces, there's a good chance that you'll come running back to KDE. It's the defacto X-Server interface available with every distribution and it is also the most windows-like.

This guide will show you how to update the KDE that ships with SuSE 9.1. The KDE interface you currently run is version 3.2.1. You can check this by selecting the K-Menu from your kicker ("kicker" is KDE's equivalent of your Windows START bar. K-Menu is the same thing as START). Ideally, to get the most out of your GUI driven Linux experience, you want to keep your KDE up to date. This is especially true with respect to certain desktop enhancements, like SuperKaramba and some desktop themes which explicitly require KDE 3.2.3 upwards.

There are two ways to update your KDE. The easy YaST Control Center (boring) way, or the command line (fun!) way. The easy way is so easy, I won't both to even waste time on that here. You can figure that out all by yourself. In fact, you can find those directions here. I strongly recommend that you however go the command-line way, as you are in complete control of what gets installed, and it progresses along MUCH faster than going the easy route. Furthermore, the system will take for granted that you have already properly configured it for internet access.

: In fact, before you even attempt to do anything in Linux, the very first thing you need to do is ensure that you can get online. Once you can get online, you're set. If you are not using ADSL, DO NOT TAKE THE EASY ROUTE. Unless ofcourse you want a $20,000 phone bill at the end of the day. Have a friend with ADSL download the RPMs for you and take the commandline route. You won't regret it. :icon_wink

[More...]

[Xenocrates]

For the commandline (fun) way, the first thing you need to do is go to www.kde.org and download the RPMs. Don't follow the directions on the website for installing the KDE update, as they are very generic, and are not distro specific. Once you have the KDE 3.2.3 rpms down, follow the instructions below exactly:

1. Insert Disc 1 of your SuSE 5-Disc set.
   
   
2. Open your YaST2 Control Center (Menu?System?YaST). Select the ?Software? subgroup. Select Install and Remove Software. In the filter drop down box, select Search. Search for the following packages, checking the box when they come up in the results window on the right:
   
   
   
   • alsa-devel
   • autoconf
   • automake
   • fam-devel
   • freeglut-devel
   • freetype2-devel
   • gcc
   • gcc-c++
   • glib2-devel
   • libidn-devel
   • libmng-devel
   • libvorbis-devel
   • libxslt-devel
   • libxml2-devel
   • libart_lgpl-devel
   • mad-devel
   • make
   • ocrad
   • pcre-devel
   • povray
   • tetex
   • Xfree86-Mesa-devel
   • zlib-devel
   
   
   
3. Click on Accept, after which you will be taken to a window where you will be notified that other packages will be installed in addition to your selection to resolve dependencies (more on this later). Click on Continue. The installation of the selected packages will commence. This should take quite a while, so fire up a game or pull out a book in the mean time.
   
   
4. When this process is complete, YaST2 will update your system configuration and return you to the desktop. Now this is where the fun part begins. Fire up your Konsole command line interface, and cd to the directory where you downloaded the KDE 3.2.3 rpms.
   
   
5. There should be 95 files in this folder. Each file belongs to a particular category of the KDE infrastructure. For the most part, we will be using the rpm command. (type man rpm & press ENTER in your Konsole to see a exhaustive and detailed manual on this command's usage). Now to install these files, you need to type the following bolded commands exactly as you see them here. Press ENTER after each line, and wait as the YaST2 RPM Manager installs & updates the software packages on your system.
   
   

   rpm -Uvh qt3*.rpm

   This installs the updated QT libraries. QT is a development API platform for Linux that enables the use of advanced graphical user interface and object calls within a menu-driven linux environment. As such, it must be installed first. Type the following commands, one line after the other, in the EXACT order you see them here, pressing ENTER each time:
   
   

   rpm -Uvh arts*.rpm
   rpm -Uvh kdelibs*.rpm
   rpm -Uvh kdebase*.rpm
   rpm -Uvh kdenetwork*.rpm
   rpm -Uvh kdemultimedia*.rpm
   rpm -Uvh kdegames*.rpm
   rpm -Uvh kdegraphics*.rpm
   rpm -Uvh kdeaddons*.rpm
   rpm -Uvh kdeutils*.rpm
   rpm -Uvh libart*.rpm
   rpm -Uvh quanta*.rpm
   rpm -Uvh taglib*.rpm
   rpm -Uvh kdeartwork*.rpm

   -=[Edit]=-
   
   It is extremely important that you DO NOT TYPE:
   
   

   rpm -Uvh *.rpm

   ...as this will only try to install the rpms in the order that they are stored in the directory. This will most certainly mess up your SuSE installation and lead you into a situation known as RPM Hell where RPMs that depend on each other are installed in the wrong order, leading to a lot of incomplete installations and unresolved RPM interdependencies. Therefore you MUST enter the commands in the EXACT sequence you see listed above. Trust me, you do NOT want to get stuck in this kind of situation. It's a headache that is easily avoidable, and is simultaneously one you do NOT wish to have.
   
   -=[End Edit]=-
   
   
6. The following libraries don't need to be installed/updated unless:
   
   
   • kdevelop*.rpm - You are a Linux programmer.
     
     
   • kdebindings*.rpm - Same as above.
     
     
   • kdesdk*.rpm - Same as above.
     
     
   • kdeaccessibility*.rpm - There are disabled people, including people with sight problems, or just old people who lack any experience using a computer.
   
   
   
7. Reboot your system (assuming your are running SuSE). When your system reboots, go to the YaST Control Center. Look on the panel on the right and you will see the version number of the new KDE interface. You will see that you are now running KDE 3.2.3. Congratulations! If you are using SuSE, you have nothing more to do.
   
   
8. If you are using another distribution (shame on you!) you will need to go to your /root folder and type: kdestart and then press ENTER. After which, Follow the necessary instructions for your distribution for switching between X-Server interfaces.

There, you're done! Welcome to KDE 3.2.3! Time for the extra exploration to begin! Have fun!

[ramesh]

Thanks Xeno. You just saved me a lot of trouble. Too late to do it now (12:45am!), so I will start tomorrow night.

[Arch_Angel]

Excellent article Xeno. I tried updating my KDE version from 3.1 to the latest version, but after running the upgrade with the rpm command, it did some stuff and then brought me back to the command line. Don't know what happened, it looks as if nothing happened. But when I tried it again, it says everything was updated.

Ah well. I'm gonna try kdestart at my root and see if that works. Using Mandrake 9.1.

[Xenocrates]

The ./kdestart command is not in your root folder. It is most likely in:

/opt/kde3/bin/

or something like that. It's a binary executable file and it is run by typing:

./kdestart

...not just kdestart. Please bear this in mind. Also Arch, you want to make sure that you use the:

rpm -Uvh rpmname.rpm

keeping all of the parameters EXACTLY as how you see them here. Remember that Linux parameters are always case sensitive. The "Uvh" does a:

U - Update the files that currently exist with the ones from the selected rpm, or install them if they don't exist.

v - Verbose installation. The program tells you EVERYTHING it is doing so it doesn't just stop at the command prompt, leaving you clueless as to what happened.

h - provide a human readable dump to the screen. This parameter gives you a nice little Konsole progressbar as each file component is installed. This is actually a very nice feature for a console based program.

Using the last two parameters in the rpm command is HIGHLY recommended. You'll never be clueless again. :icon_wink

[Arch_Angel]

Thanks Xeno. I had followed your instructions in this post http://www.techjamaica.com/forums/sh...7935#post47936 but you had a common u in the command and not the capital U. But I found out the correct command after doing rpm --help. :icon_smil

[Xenocrates]

Oh I did?! My bad! Lemme go correct it...

...Done! Very sharp eye Arch_Angel. Nothing's annoying like incorrect info. Thanks again man. The correction was greatly appreciated.

[ramesh]

Got the KDE upgraded. The arts installation started giving trouble, so I removed it once everything else got installed and then reinstalled it. Only thing is, there were some other dependencies I had to install before all packages could install:

arts-devel
libart_lpgl-devel
libpng-devel
tidy

One tip: you don't have to type the entire name of the file to search, however sometimes there are too many files that will match the search. In that case adding more letters to the search will narrow the search results.

[Malloc-X]

xeno i cant find some of the packages in ur list

[Y@tta]

xeno i cant find some of the packages in ur list

Like what values??

Only thing is, there were some other dependencies I had to install before all packages could install: .....

i would get the devel pacakges for basically everythign u going to install it will save u headaches later on down the road. if u have to compile or install some other things. I found that out the hard way :-(