How to set file paths in ubuntu

Question

I'm trying to install an application using the terminal in Ubuntu 9.10. What do I type when a file path is needed?Any tutorials there regarding file paths in ubuntu. Because I tried using C:\ and its not working.

Answer 1

Linux has no drive letters and doesn't use the backslash as a directory separator. The root of the directory structure is /. But you should first get acquainted with the directory structure on UNIX and UNIX-like systems. man hier should give you some hints (at least it does on FreeBSD).

Generally, putting software directly into / is strongly discouraged (as is putting something directly into C:\ on Windows as well—it's just that most Windows users don't care).