ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the role of the system administrator with respect to installing and maintaining software including common questions that one should ask before selecting and installing software. GUI-based and command-line programs to handle software maintenance (installation, updating, upgrading, etc.) are explored with an emphasis on apt, dnf, dkpg and rpm. The role of library files and the dependencies that arise are examined as is, briefly, the website https://rpmfind.net">rpmfind.net. Steps to install software from source code are covered including an examination of a simple makefile. An optional section on the gcc C/C++ compiler is presented for those readers interested. Producing documentation for using software is also briefly described.
