Installing and Configuring Application Software

 It’s crucial and important for the new Linux system administrator to understand two characteristics that set Linux apart from other popular commercial operating systems: The first is the root or super user, and the second is that Linux is a multiuser operating system. Each user has (or shares) an account on the system,  it may be on a separate machine or on a single machine with multiple accounts.Reason for there importance is found in the administration of application software — productivity programs.

Individual users can install some applications in their home directories — drive space set aside for their own files and customizations — these applications are not available to other users. Besides, if an application is to be used by more than one user, it needs to be installed higher up in the Linux file hierarchy, which is a job
of the system administrator only. (The administrator can even decide which users may use which applications by creating a “group” for that application and enrolling individual users into that group.)

Note:- The location of the installation of application usually matters only if you compile the application from source code; if you use a Red Hat Package Manager (RPM) application package, it automatically goes where it should.

Configuration and customization of applications is to some extent at the user’s
discretion, but not entirely. “Skeleton” configurations — administrator can determine default configurations . For example- 
If there are particular forms, that are used throughout an enterprise, the system administrator would set them up or make them available by adding them to the skeleton configuration. The same applies, too, in configuring user desktops and determine what applications should appear on user desktop menus. Your company may not want the games that comes with modern Linux desktops to be available to users.


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