Basics - GIMP 2.6 for Photographers: Image Editing with Open Source Software - page 30

GIMP and Linux
The easiest way to install GIMP for Linux is by using the software packaged
with the Linux distribution (SUSE, Ubuntu, Mandrake, Fedora, etc.). This works
in conjunction with the installation interface of YAST at OpenSUSE or over
automatic updates of the respective distribution. However, since prepackaged
installation software is normally not up-to-date, you may want to visit http://
www.gimp.org/unix/ to find the most current GIMP version. This website also
provides installation hints and instructions.
Since UFRaw is not include in your Linux distribution, you can download
RPM files for various distributions or the even better source code on Udi
Fuchs's website: http://ufraw.sourceforge.net/Install.html.
The animation plug-in GAP for GIMP 2.6 is available as source code for
Linux. Go to ftp://ftp.gimp.org/pub/gimp/plug-ins/v2.6/gap.
If you are an experienced Linux user, you can install GIMP from the
source code. The source code can be found on the website mentioned in
the preceding paragraph. Note that if you are compiling GIMP yourself, you
should consider the dependencies. For a list of preinstallable libraries and
other installation hints, go to: http://www.gimp.org/unix a nd http://www.
gimp.org/source .
Plug-ins and Script-Fus - Additional Program
Functions about Program Expansion
I have already discussed several plug-ins such as UFRaw. If you want to add
additional functions, such as stitching photos together to create panorama
photos or layer effects as in Photoshop, you will find many of those program
expansions (called plug-ins or script-fus) on the Internet under http:/registry.
gimp.org . Search engines lead you to websites where you can download
program expansions for free.
Apparently, the contents of the Plugin Registry were greatly reduced
when GIMP 2.4 was introduced. So far there are relatively few plug-ins for the
new version 2.6, but these are by all means quite interesting. Throughout the
topic, I will be going into great detail on plug-ins.
Installing GIMP Plug-Ins
Most plug-ins, such as so-called script-fus (filename extension .scm ) and
some short programs written in Perl or Python (filename extension .py ), are
available for download. Python runs on Windows only if you have installed
Python 2.5 as well as the appropriate PyGTK+ library. Some plug-ins for the
Windows version of GIMP are available as EXE files.
If you have downloaded and stored the data files on your computer, they
have to be installed in the appropriate directory. You may find references