[Linux] Extract the source or bin, tar is a zip file

tar xfv will extract the source or bin, tar is a zip file so to speak but better.

if it ends in .tar that command will work
if it ends in tar.gz you will need to add the "z" option
if it ends in .bz2 you will need to add the "j" option

If it is a source file and needs to be compiled the following steps are the norm,

./configure --prefix=/usr/local (just to keep things neat)
make
make install