====== Checking for or requesting software packages ======

===== Checking for software on a computer =====

Software can be made available using a number of methods on our linux systems
  - installed using the native linux package manager (rpm/yum)
  - available within "[[computing:department:unix:software:modules]]"
  - available within a Redhat [[.:development:scl|"software collection"]]
  - installed to a shared network directory on a server

This can sometimes make it hard to determine what is available to you.

Running the ''locate'' command on a particular machine can help to determine is a piece of software is present.

You can check if a particular item is available as a linux package using the ''yum'' command. For example:

  yum list lapack
  
If you're not certain of the package name, you can use wildcards as long as you enclose it in quotes, eg ''yum list "lapac*"''

If you want to find a particular file on the system (for example a shared library), use ''locate'', eg ''locate liblapack.so''.

If you can't find the file you're looking for, and want to know if it's available in a package, you can use ''yum provides''. For example:

  yum provides "*/liblapack.so"

Finally, if you find a package you need but which is not installed, let us know at net@physics.umn.edu so we can add it to the distribution list.