Standard maxima installation under Linux?

> Hello all.  I am trying to make a GUI for manipulating mathematics. 
> My GUI can use Maxima as a back end to help it solve some of the more
> challenging problems.  I have it working under windows, but I haven't
> tested it under Linux yet.  Unfortunately, I don't know enough about
> Linux to make meaningful choices, so I came here.

A general hint: If you want some example how to write a Windows/Linux
cross-os program, you might want to look at wxMaxima:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/wxmaxima

> Basically, my questions are:
> 
> 1) Is there a standard installation directory for Maxima under Linux
> systems?  The download on sourceforge looks like a zip file, and like
> I said I have little experience with Linux.  I would like to allow my
> program to autodetect Maxima if it can.

Under Linux and all Unices AFAIK software packages are usually spread
across the file system. The executable is most likely
/usr/bin/maxima or /usr/local/bin/maxima
Additional maxima packages probably are somewhere like
/usr/share/maxima/<maxima-version>/...

Your issues are not specific to maxima but depend on the linux distribution
used or the taste of the local admin. Probably it would be a good idea to
look for some (linux)experienced programmer to work together on your project.

Regards,
Harald