[Gllug] VACANCY: Linux Technical Consultant / Architect requi red

[John Winters]

On Fri, 2002-09-27 at 08:51, robin.c.smith at bt.com wrote:
> To patch Debian for the latest security patches you just type:- apt-get
> dist-upgrade.

An "apt-get update" first can make this more effective.  :-)

> I gave up using Slackware then Red Hat in favour of Debian because the
> package management in Debian is the best in the world -IMHO.
> 
> Specifically one night I had to install the X3270 emulator on Red Hat, every
> time I thought I had the correct packages installed it would then ask me to
> install another one before it that it depends on. Red Hat went the next day
> in favour of Debian - to install this under Debian I typed:- apt-get install
> x3270 , and it retrieved all the packages it needed and installed them in
> the correct order.

What can make installing stuff on RH *really* convoluted is the need to
go backwards and forwards through the CDs.  You try to install a package
from CD 3.  It lists four other packages it needs.  Two of these are on
CD 1, one on CD 2 and one on CD 3.  You go back to CD 1, try to install
the two, find they need another couple of packages on CD 1, add those
in, on to CD 2, try to install the package from there, find it needs
something more from CD 1, back to CD 1, install the missing package, on
to CD 2, install the package from there, on to CD 3, try to install the
dependency package from there, find it needs a couple of packages from
an earlier CD...

What should take 5 minutes can end up taking over an hour.

I recently tried to install the kernel source on a RH system and it
insisted I couldn't because I didn't have the C compiler installed!  I
felt safe over-riding the dependencies that time.

John

-- 
The Linux Emporium - the source for Linux in the UK
See http://www.linuxemporium.co.uk/

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