How do you install Firebird SQL in Ubuntu?

[Don Bowen]

How do you install a program in Ubuntu?

Specifically, I'm trying to install the Firebird SQL software.
coming from windows, i'm looking for there to be a "setup" or "install" program, and there's nothing like that.

I've figured out that going to Applications, accessories, terminal gets me the CLI interface, but ...what then?

history: bought all versions of MSDOS as they came out, bought windows 1.0.
learned to program with Turbo Pascal 1.0, bought every subsequent version of windows
as it came out. learned to program in C++ with Borland products.

[howefield]

How do you install a program in Ubuntu?

Specifically, I'm trying to install the Firebird SQL software.

I do not know the program, but have you tried Synaptic Package Manager, is this what you need ?

firebird2.1-super


Or if you prefer, with the terminal

sudo apt-get install firebird2.1-super

[Don Bowen]

I do not know the program, but have you tried Synaptic Package Manager, is this what you need ?

firebird2.1-super


Or if you prefer, with the terminal

sudo apt-get install firebird2.1-super

OK...what is synaptic package manager and where may I find it?
and you write
"or if you prefer, with the terminal"
do you mean open the terminal and go and type that line?

[bruno9779]

the command apt-get, Add & Remove from "applications" menue and Synaptic package manager in "system">"administration" are differet interfaces for the same function.

they all look at ~/sources.list for servers where to look for packages (sw)

sources.list must not be empty, and editing it has its rationale (do not chuck things in there to see if it works, google for howtos or open a new thread)

[bruno9779]

you are on the good direction.

now open terminal and type

cat /etc/apt/sources.list

press enter, copy the outut and post it here as a reply.

alternatively you can navigate to /etc/apt with the graphical interface, open sources list and post the content

[Don Bowen]

I do not know the program, but have you tried Synaptic Package Manager, is this what you need ?

firebird2.1-super


Or if you prefer, with the terminal

sudo apt-get install firebird2.1-super

Progress of the unknown kind follows:
Wow! I was going back over the posts and came to this one and tried the command.
It put out a lot of text that looks like it might be installing the software!
I have no idea what I just did with the command

sudo apt-get install firebird2.1-super

but the show was impressive.
If it installed the software, (and that's a big if),
1. Where did it get the software from?
2. what folder did it install to (is there a c:\program files equivalent in linux?)
3. how do I find the software to run it, if the command installed it?

Here's the output I got back. (Linux is certainly wordy!)

don@B1501:~$ The following extra packages will be installed:
bash: The: command not found
don@B1501:~$
don@B1501:~$ apt-get install firebird2-super-server
E: Could not open lock file /var/lib/dpkg/lock - open (13 Permission denied)
E: Unable to lock the administration directory (/var/lib/dpkg/), are you root?
don@B1501:~$ sudo apt-get install firebird2.1-super
[sudo] password for don:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
The following packages were automatically installed and are no longer required:
linux-headers-2.6.28-11 linux-headers-2.6.28-11-generic
Use 'apt-get autoremove' to remove them.
The following extra packages will be installed:
firebird2.1-common firebird2.1-server-common libfbclient2
Suggested packages:
firebird2.1-doc
The following NEW packages will be installed:
firebird2.1-common firebird2.1-server-common firebird2.1-super libfbclient2
0 upgraded, 4 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 5795kB of archives.
After this operation, 13.9MB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue [Y/n]? y
Get:1 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com jaunty/universe firebird2.1-common 2.1.1.17910-release.ds1-1ubuntu1 [940kB]
Get:2 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com jaunty/universe firebird2.1-server-common 2.1.1.17910-release.ds1-1ubuntu1 [603kB]
Get:3 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com jaunty/universe libfbclient2 2.1.1.17910-release.ds1-1ubuntu1 [728kB]
Get:4 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com jaunty/universe firebird2.1-super 2.1.1.17910-release.ds1-1ubuntu1 [3525kB]
Fetched 5795kB in 19s (299kB/s)
Preconfiguring packages ...
Selecting previously deselected package firebird2.1-common.
(Reading database ... 121956 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking firebird2.1-common (from .../firebird2.1-common_2.1.1.17910-release.ds1-1ubuntu1_i386.deb) ...
Selecting previously deselected package firebird2.1-server-common.
Unpacking firebird2.1-server-common (from .../firebird2.1-server-common_2.1.1.17910-release.ds1-1ubuntu1_i386.deb) ...
Selecting previously deselected package libfbclient2.
Unpacking libfbclient2 (from .../libfbclient2_2.1.1.17910-release.ds1-1ubuntu1_i386.deb) ...
Selecting previously deselected package firebird2.1-super.
Unpacking firebird2.1-super (from .../firebird2.1-super_2.1.1.17910-release.ds1-1ubuntu1_i386.deb) ...
Processing triggers for man-db ...
Setting up firebird2.1-common (2.1.1.17910-release.ds1-1ubuntu1) ...
Setting up firebird2.1-server-common (2.1.1.17910-release.ds1-1ubuntu1) ...
adduser: Warning: The home directory `/var/lib/firebird' does not belong to the user you are currently creating.

Setting up libfbclient2 (2.1.1.17910-release.ds1-1ubuntu1) ...

Setting up firebird2.1-super (2.1.1.17910-release.ds1-1ubuntu1) ...
Created default security.fdb
* Firebird 2.1 server manager not running.
* Not starting Firebird 2.1 server manager
* Use `dpkg-reconfigure firebird2.1-super' to enable.

Processing triggers for libc6 ...
ldconfig deferred processing now taking place
don@B1501:~$

[semitone36]

Welcome Don and allow me to attempt to answer some of your questions.

Firstly, putting "sudo" in front of a command grants you temporary administrator privileges for the duration of the command that follows it. Commands that alter important files in your file system (such as apt-get install) require you to use sudo before they will execute. Its just one of the ways Linux handles security differently than windows.

If it installed the software, (and that's a big if),
1. Where did it get the software from?
2. what folder did it install to (is there a c:\program files equivalent in linux?)
3. how do I find the software to run it, if the command installed it?

1. When you type "sudo apt-get install <package>, you are telling ubuntu to reference the sources.list file to look up packages that are on the servers listed there. If it finds the package you asked for, it will install it and also give an output of useful information pertaining to the package. (giving the output a read through is always a good idea!)

2. Yes and no. I have only been using linux for a little over a year and this is one area where my knowledge is still a little fuzzy. I will let somebody else who might know more try to answer this question.

3. First look through your applications menu and see if it has a button there. If not, try typing "firebird" into the terminal.

[3rdalbum]

Progress of the unknown kind follows:
Wow! I was going back over the posts and came to this one and tried the command.
It put out a lot of text that looks like it might be installing the software!
I have no idea what I just did with the command

sudo apt-get install firebird2.1-super

but the show was impressive.
If it installed the software, (and that's a big if),
1. Where did it get the software from?
2. what folder did it install to (is there a c:\program files equivalent in linux?)
3. how do I find the software to run it, if the command installed it?

It gave one error message/warning which I'm not sure relates to, but that error/warning did not stop the installation. So yes, it's installed. It looks like you need to run the dpkg reconfigure command for this package, for some reason; in the terminal just paste this in:

sudo dpkg-reconfigure firebird2.1-super

Unusual, but hopefully this will get the software to run on bootup.

1. It got the software from the Ubuntu repositories - it's a big online catalog of software that can be easily installed within Ubuntu. If you go to System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager you can see the entire contents of the catalog.

2. You don't need to know where it all installed to. If you want to know, then it's available under Properties in Synaptic.

3. Video tutorial in my signature for this situation, but I believe this software probably just runs constantly; it's a server. How you interact with the server is probably discussed in the documentation on the program's website, or in the "man" page.

[Don Bowen]

It gave one error message/warning which I'm not sure relates to, but that error/warning did not stop the installation. So yes, it's installed. It looks like you need to run the dpkg reconfigure command for this package, for some reason; in the terminal just paste this in:

sudo dpkg-reconfigure firebird2.1-super

Unusual, but hopefully this will get the software to run on bootup.

1. It got the software from the Ubuntu repositories - it's a big online catalog of software that can be easily installed within Ubuntu. If you go to System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager you can see the entire contents of the catalog.

2. You don't need to know where it all installed to. If you want to know, then it's available under Properties in Synaptic.

3. Video tutorial in my signature for this situation, but I believe this software probably just runs constantly; it's a server. How you interact with the server is probably discussed in the documentation on the program's website, or in the "man" page.

That was interesting! typing in that one command you suggested cause FireBird to run a configuration program for setting up the SQL SysDBA. That part I'm familiar with...
This makes me think that the software really is installed... but if it were, then there should be icons and a CLI interface for SQL ...somewhere... Firebird as an SQL server has a number of standard utilities that help a sysdba make the thing work.
i'm going to reboot Ubuntu to see if that changes the available programs (now there's a MS Windows behavior for you! reboot to see if anything changes.!)
I'll announce it joyfully if the program is installed and usable.

[Don Bowen]

After one reboot, there's still no evidence that Firebird SQL server is actually installed and running anywhere. None of its icons show up under applications, and I can find none of the attendant CLI utilities that make Firebird a useful SQL tool.

I can only conclude that Firebird, for all this effort, is NOT installed yet, so I'd like to keep going with this thread.... I'm back to being stuck again.. so if anyone has an idea about how firebird should be installed...lets have it.

For now, I'll go back to the "how to install firebird in Linux" site and see if I can make sense out of the directions.

If I download the software and put it in a folder somewhere, shouldn't I be installing it from that folder? Is there some way to tell Ubuntu, "hey, the software I want to install is in this folder, look there when you need something"?

What is the point of downloading something if you never tell Ubuntu that it's there and you want it installed?