sudo apt-get install build-essential
does not work in my ubuntu 12.04.
when I tried to install it does not work.
You should run
sudo apt-get update
and then try again.
A similar issue was found in the Ubuntu forums[http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=11942951].
sudo apt-get install build-essential
. (If you don't still have it up, then run the command again to get this text.) Also, please clarify in your question if the problem is that you are unable to install it, or that you cannot use the software once it is installed. Please give as detailed a description as possible of what you are attempting to achieve by running this command.