Getting Additional Software

After installing Oracle Solaris 11 Express, you may find that some of the software applications that you use on a regular basis are not immediately available to you. You can install these software applications from a package repository, by using either the Package Manager GUI or the IPS command-line interface (CLI).

IPS is a framework that provides the capability for software lifecycle management, which includes installation, upgrade, and the removal of packages. IPS also provides you with the ability to upgrade all of those packages on your installed system that have available updates.

With IPS, you can do the following:

• Search for packages that are already installed on your system or packages that are available from a specified package repository.

• Add package sources (publishers) that can be searched.

• Get information about installing packages, such as package dependencies and any additional packages to be installed.

• Download and install packages with a single click.

• Update existing packages on a system.

• Remove (uninstall) existing packages.

Note that your system must be connected to the Internet to use the default package repository.

For more information, see the pkg(1) man page.

How to Install Software Packages by Using Package Manager

Package Manager is the GUI for IPS. Package Manager provides a subset of the functionality that is offered by using IPS commands. With Package Manager, you can search for and manage publishers, and administer boot environments. The following procedure provides basic instructions on how to use Package Manager to add software packages to your system. For more detailed instructions, refer to the Package Manager online help.

1. Start Package Manager in one of the following ways:

   • Click the Package Manger icon in the GNOME desktop tool panel.

   • Double-click the Package Manger icon that is located on the desktop.

   • From the main menu of the desktop, choose System -> Administration -> Package Manager.

2. If prompted, type the root password.

   The Package Manager window opens and catalogs of the publishers that you have defined are loaded.

3. In the View drop-down menu, make sure the All Packages option is selected.
4. In the Publisher drop-down menu, select the publisher to search, or select the All Publishers (Search Ctrl-F) option.

   Your newly installed Oracle Solaris system has one publisher (package source) configured, the solaris publisher. The repository for the solaris publisher is http://pkg.oracle.com/solaris/release. You can search for packages on this web site, as well as by using Package Manager or the pkg command.

5. In the Search field, type a word from the name or description of the package that you want to install or update, then press Return (or Enter).

   For example, to search for the OpenOffice package, type “office” in the Search field.

   • Or, click the icon of the magnifying glass to the right of the Search field to search for packages with that name.

   The Status column indicates whether the package is installed. The Status column also indicates whether there is an update currently available for an installed package.

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   Tip - Hovering your mouse over the icon also displays the current status of the package.

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6. To select the package, click the check box next to the package name.

   Note that you can select multiple packages at one time by selecting multiple check boxes.

7. (Optional) To get more information about a package, click the package entry in the list to select the package.
   • To learn about dependencies for the currently selected package click the Dependencies tab in the Details panel.

   The Details panel displays additional information about the package that is currently selected with your cursor. Although you can select multiple packages at one time (by selecting multiple check boxes), you can only view details about the one package that is currently selected.

8. Click the Install/Update icon on the Package Manager toolbar to install the package (or packages).

   Package Manager checks for and evaluates whether there are any package dependencies. The Install/Update Confirmation dialog displays the name, publisher, and summary about the package that is displayed in the package list.

9. Click Proceed to install the package or update the listed packages, or click Cancel to cancel the installation.
   • If a license dialog box is displayed, accept the license agreement to install the package.

   Package Manager downloads and installs (or updates) the packages that are listed in the Confirmation dialog box. The Install/Update window displays a log of the installation.

   When the installation has successfully completed, the Status column in the Package Manager package list displays the Installed icon (a plain box).

10. (Optional) To update all of the packages that have available updates, click the Updates button.