Software Repositories

You can download Linux software from many online sources. You can find sites for particular kinds of applications, such as GNOME and KDE, as well as for particular distributions, such as Red Hat. The Red Hat Network can automatically download and update software installed from RPM packages that make up the Red Hat distribution. Some sites are repositories for RPM packages, such as rpmfind.net, and others like freshmeat.net refer you to original sites. A great many of the Open Source Linux projects can be found at sourceforge.net. Here you will find detailed documentation and recent versions of software packages. For applications designed for the GNOME desktop, you can check www.gnome.org, and you can find KDE applications at apps.kde.com. For particular database and office applications, you can download software packages directly from the company's Web site, such as www.oracle.com for the Oracle database. Table 29-1 lists several popular Linux software sites.

Table 29-1: Linux Software Sites

FTP and Web Sites	Applications
ftp.redhat.com	Software packaged in RPM packages for Red Hat
freshmeat.net	Linux software, including RPMs
rpmfind.net	RPM package repository
freshrpms.net	Customized RPM packages
sourceforge.net	Linux Open Source software projects
www.gnome.org	GNOME software
apps.kde.com	KDE software
rpmseek.com	Linux software search site
www.filewatcher.org	Linux FTP site watcher
www.gnu.org	GNU archive
www.ximian.com	Ximian Desktop, office applications for GNOME