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Chapter 1-5: Software and Package Management

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Chapter 1-5: Software and Package Management

When it comes to managing software, both Windows and Linux offer powerful tools for installation, removal, and updates. However, the approach is slightly different across these two platforms. In this chapter, we will look at how to check installed packages and schedule tasks, giving you the flexibility to automate your processes.

15. Check Installed Packages

🎯 Purpose

To list all the software packages installed on your system, whether it’s a fresh installation or after updating and adding new software.

💻 Windows

wmic product get name

🧾 Sample Output

Name
===========================================
Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox
Microsoft Visual Studio
Microsoft Office
Notepad++
⚠️ Alert:
This command lists all installed programs via Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI). Note that it might not show software installed via the Microsoft Store or certain types of apps.

🐧 Linux

For Debian-based distributions (e.g., Ubuntu):

dpkg -l

For Red Hat-based distributions (e.g., CentOS, Fedora):

rpm -qa

🧾 Sample Output (Debian-based)

ii  google-chrome-stable  90.0.4430.212-1  amd64  The web browser from Google
ii  firefox                88.0+build3-0ubuntu0.20.04.1  amd64  Web browser based on Gecko

🧾 Sample Output (Red Hat-based)

google-chrome-stable-90.0.4430.212-1.x86_64
firefox-88.0-3.fc33.x86_64
📝 Note:
On Linux, you can use apt list --installed (for Ubuntu/Debian) or yum list installed (for CentOS/RHEL) to list installed packages as well.

16. Schedule Tasks

🎯 Purpose

To schedule and automate tasks on your system—whether it's running backups, updates, or custom scripts at specific times.

💻 Windows

schtasks /create /tn "Backup" /tr "C:\backup.bat" /sc daily /st 12:00

🧾 Sample Output

Task has been scheduled successfully.
📝 Note:
This command schedules a task to run a backup script every day at 12:00 PM. You can adjust the /sc parameter to set the frequency (e.g., daily, weekly, etc.).

🐧 Linux

crontab -e

🧾 Sample Output

# Edit this file to introduce tasks to be run by cron.
# Example:
# . . . . .
0 12 * * * /home/user/backup.sh
⚠️ Alert:
After editing the crontab, you’ll need to save and exit the editor. The cron job will automatically execute based on the schedule you set.
💡 Tip:
To list all scheduled cron jobs, you can use: 
crontab -l

✅ Coming Up Next

In Part 6: User and Security Management, we will be discussing how to manage users, groups, and access controls on both Windows and Linux.

Stay tuned.