Linux installs - where should I put them?

I am relatively new to Linux, I am using Xubuntu 10.04.

A lot of the software I download from the net, e.g. Aptana/Eclipse are just ZIP files that I open and run.

1. I wish them to be in a specific folder where I can reach them from everywhere when I run "Eclipse".

2. I want them to be available to all users.

3. I want to be able to start them from the drop-down menu on the desktop.

How can I do that?

Solution 1:

There is some kind of "Filesystem Hierarchy Standard":

The Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS) defines the main directories and their contents in Linux operating systems. For the most part, it is a formalization and extension of the traditional BSD filesystem hierarchy.

I would put that stuff to:

/opt/   Optional application software packages

Read yourself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filesystem_Hierarchy_Standard

For the rest of your questions:

1. That's a matter of having the path to the binary / script you want to launch in the PATH variable. According to https://help.ubuntu.com/community/EnvironmentVariables you want to do this via /etc/environment. You could also create a 'symbolic link' to the binary or write a launch script which you then place into /usr/bin or /usr/local/bin.

2. See 1.

3. For that you have to create a .desktop file and install it (make an entry in the menu to it) via xdg-desktop-menu.

Solution 2:

You should use your system's package manager to do installation whenever possible. The package will be automatically located in an appropriate place. On Xubuntu, it's aptitude/apt-get/synaptic/Ubuntu Software Center. See Adding, Removing and Updating Applications.