Package management refers to addition or management of applications on your Linux system.
One would normally use the package manager built into the GUI that you are using on the linux platform. I.e Synaptic on Ubuntu.
The use of a centralized method of registering and installing application on a linux machine is one of the platforms advantages. The number of different package formats is a drawback, but for most people the application they want is in a package format they can use. The source is always available if people want to compile it directly for there platform.
dpkg is the debian package manager.
dpkg -i oracle-xe-universal_10.2.0.1-0_i386.deb
The -i means install. The .deb extension indicates a debian/ubuntu formatted package. The filename, of course, indicates what it is, the version number and the platform, in this case the intel 386 family of processors i.e. a regular PC not a PowerPC or a Sun SPARC. So you would need a different package if you wanted to run in on Linux on an old Apple box as these use PowerPC processors.
Someone that can use an Oracle database should be able to use a command line.
The other, even easier, options for installing packages and codec on a linux box are via Linspires click-n-run; 20,000 application for $50 a year. Or via a helper program like easyubuntu or automatix.And remember a standard disto comes with most of the applications you would want, unlike Windows. And it is free as in money and as in liberty. Viva la revolution.
Colin.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_package_formats
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Synaptic_screenshot.png
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Packaging_Tool
http://www.linspire.com/products_cnr_whatis.php
http://easyubuntu.freecontrib.org/
http://getautomatix.com/wiki/index.php?title=Software_and_Tweaks
