Apps installation

Why don’t Linux apps have a ***exe file for ease of installation? Makes life so much simpler for users, and surely, not difficult to code given the high expertise of the project developers - perhaps one or two lines of code?
Tried today to install an application; extracting the zip file left me with a lot of folders with names that meant nothing. One was titled “Install” but running it did nothing apart from a brief flash of code. Not helpful.

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Linux has a lot of ways for installing software, one of them is thru repositories (Software Boutique, Software Center, and also thru CLI etc.) and is simpler than “exe” files. Second, there exists .deb for Debian and derivatives like Ubuntu which is the like of .exe.
There are a lot of ways of installing software for good reasons, in the end, it will depend on the program you want to install on how it can be achieve.

Examples of how to install software:

In Software Boutique
Look for Calibre --> Click install. Enter your password. Done.

Thru CLI:
CTRL+ALT+T --> sudo apt install telegram dia -->press Y and ENTER. Enter your password. DONE

EASIER THAN WINDOWS .exe. In the last example you are installing 2 pograms at a time. You didn’t need to go to a website, look for the downloads section, look where to download it, download it (and wait) then look for the file, double click, then follow the steps on screen.

Those are examples using repositories. Software that is not in repositories can’t be installed this way. However there even exists ppas which mean that you can add a ppa for the software you want (if it has it) and then install it thru CLI. Of course, the.deb files can be installed in the traditional way of Windows (but not all Windows software is this “simple” to install as there is software like the one you downloaded for Windows too).

You can even launch programs written in .net for Windows with mono on Linux.

Now, if you mention the software you want to install, we could help you. BTW, install is a text file, open it with a text editor like pluma and read it; also read README file if t has one.

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Thanks. Pointed me in the right direction - didn’t appreciate the use
of “sudo” and that made a difference and has enabled me to investigate
apps that looked interesting.