Debian Packages

Debian software packages are like bundles of stuff stored in a special kind of file, kinda like a treasure chest. Inside, you've got all sorts of things, like programs you can run, settings files, user manuals, and other bits. They also come with some extra info, like what other stuff they need to work (dependencies), how big they are, and what they're all about.

You can mess around with these .deb files using all sorts of tools, whether you're a command-line whiz or prefer the fancy graphical stuff. Some examples include:

• Software Centre You should be familiar with this from the last section, but in case you skipped ahead... Software Centre is essentially the Ubuntu app store (other distros have similar offerings)

• apptitude If you're into old-school stuff, there's this thing called aptitude. It's like a command-line tool with menus. You run it, and then you use your arrow keys to pick what you want and hit Enter. You can use it to update, grab new stuff, or see what's already installed. Simples

• apt There's a bunch of commands that start with apt, like apt-get, apt, apt-config, and apt-cache. They're like your toolkit for managing packages on your system. This is the usual start place for most people