Can Someone Clever Explain What ldconfig and env-update Do?

[Miscbrah]

Hi - long time Windows user agonising my way through some Linux training. Heh, actually it's not all that bad.

 

Please stop me if any of the following is wrong, as it's leading me to my question:

 

Coming onto package management now, and as far as I understand it, you get "app store" style management of packages rather than "download this .exe and run this and that" as with Windows.

 

Then you have libraries, which are bits like .dlls you get in Windows, which do %stuff%. SHARED libraries are .so files and lots of software can use those, as they're all in one place that everything knows about. STATIC libraries are .a files and only one bit of software uses those; that's for if you're into hardcore version-specific fiddling about rather than streamlined system day-to-daying.

 

A file called /etc/ld.so.conf tells the system where to go looking for shared libraries. Lines in there look much like:

 

include /etc/ld.so.conf.d/*.conf

include /etc/lollibrariesomg/*.conf

 

First line is default, second line is one you'd put in because you'd got libraries in the 'lollibrariesomg' folder and wanted Linux to have a rummage in there for libraries you've put in with your fiddling.

 

Now, env-update does something to make sure the libraries are up to date but I dunno what exactly. Also, ldconfig does something too and has a BUNCH of switches to it but I have no idea what. Something about updating the 'library cache' (what?) and/or the 'symbolic links' (what what?) Googling both just leads me to hugely difficult Linux questions on Linux boards that all the Linux folks talk about and it might as well be in Greek. Backwards.

 

Anyone passing who's clever fancy awaring me on what I'm missing with those two bad boys?

 

Huge thanks in advance for the time.

Edited November 13, 2013 by Miscbrah