[Nottingham] Debian devotion [was: OE Reply Fixer]
Robert Davies
nottingham at mailman.lug.org.uk
Wed Mar 5 11:38:05 2003
On Wednesday 05 March 2003 11:14, you wrote:
> A couple of months ago I moved back to Mandrake (version 9.0) as I was
> getting to the point where I wanted to a distro I could use and not
> think to much about, but I don't think that a weekend has gone by when I
> haven't wanted to re-install Debian, most notably when I am trying to
> install something and have to mess around with dependencies!
Why don't you borrow some SuSE 8.1 CD's and give it a try, the YaST Sofware
Package manager sorts all that out, for things which are available on the ftp
mirrors, and with 7CDs of software to try SuSE is a 'fat' distribution. I
rarely struggle with dependencies
http://www.suse.co.uk/uk/private/products/suse_linux/i386/index.html
For the update to KDE-3.1 I did it by hand with rpm, and needed a few
--replacefiles and one -i rather than -F to get everything sorted, but after
I discovered that it looks like a YaST Online Update tree is prepared, and I
could have used as an isntallation source, it if only I'd noticed.
When I do need a newer version of something, which isn't available on SuSE
ftp site, I install the source rpm, then build a new updated rpm package. I
take a look at the patches that were applied and remove any irrelevant ones,
then do a rebuild to create up to date source, and binary rpm packages. Most
often that is much faster, easier and less error prone than the standard
(./configure; make -j3; make install) steps.
This FAQ on rpm software packages made available by a German team, I
translated for the Leicester LUG list and might be of interest, as it :
[Leicester] Packman English FAQ (was Re: java applets)
Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 16:59:06 +0000
From: Robert Davies <rob_davies@ntlworld.com>
To: leicester@mailman.lug.org.uk, waldemar@links2linux.de
Reply to: leicester@mailman.lug.org.uk
On Sunday 02 March 2003 15:02, you wrote:
> On Sunday 02 Mar 2003 10:01 am, Robert Davies wrote:
> > Go on Clive give us more of a clue! Would it by any chance be an easy
> > way to get DVD decryption or mp3 encooding done?
> >
> > Could you post a link for the SuSE 'experimental'? Isn't there an issue
> > of trust, using these debs, as they're built from contributor sources?
>
> ftp://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/linux/suse/apt/SuSE/8.1-i386/
>
> is the top level directory of the apt for rpm for suse packages.
> Have a peek in packman-i686 for starters.
>
> There is an issue of trust, but these rpms seem to be well known in
> Germany. For the packman team, perhaps you could put
>
> http://packman.links2linux.de/index.php4?action=faq
>
> through a translator and tell us who these contributors are?
Who needs a translator? I speak German :)
Waldemar, perhaps you would like my English version of the FAQ as HTML page
on your Packman site, or may someone put it up and link to Packman from LUGs
here in the UK?
Waldemar, veilleicht moechten sie diese englishe version dieses FAQ im HTML
Format fuer Ihre Packmanseite, oder duerfen wir sie es tun, und von LUGs hier
in der Vereinigten Koenigreich aufs Packman linken?/
http://packman.links2linux.de/index.php4?action=faq
Die PackMan-FAQ
Version 0.6 (en-0.0)
Translated on 3rd March 2003, Rob Davies <rob_davies@ntlworld.com>
1. Packman-Team
They pack Software packages together to facilitate simple installs of
software that doesn't appear, or is found only in old superceded versions.
2. How to install
With Browswer or FTP client download, then rpm -Uvh package.rpm
3. How to remove
rpm -e
4) What do I do if a package for my Version or Distro isn't handy?/
# rpm --rebuild package.src.rpm
If you're lucky everything it requires will be there and you can install the
rpm built. Some software might not run on old Distros.
5. What do you do when there's a missing feature or missing patch?
Again, when source packages are usable, you can rebuild it from your system.
# rpm -i paketname.src.rpm
The SPEC files are found under /usr/src/packages/SPECS/. It holds all the
info that RPM requirries, to build a source package. Also all the steps for
an instatl are to be found in the rpm data and header info.
6. What to do when a Package doesn't install first time?
Simply send an email to the packager, perhaps he can help you solve it.
$ rpm rpm -qpi paketname.rpm|grep Packager
You don't know exactly what Info the Packager needs to know about your system?
As a starting point, you can this Bashscript (info4packman)
ftp://ftp.links2linux.de/pub/packman/info4packman download and run.
$ bash info4packman
The report created in /tmp/info4packman.log should be sent as well to the
Packager.
7. I heard, that BInary packages allow all kinds of misschief. Isn't it
insecure to install your Packages?
Before installing you can check the package, to make sure nothing underhand
happens to you.
# rpm -qpil --changelog --scripts paketname.rpm | less
Now you see who has built the package, what he's done since the last release,
what files will be installed, and what scripts will be run.
Additionally all our packagess are signed, so that you can check who really
built the package, or if it's been manipulated and whether it's been
downloaded without errors.
You can check this in serveral ways. You should have GnuPG (1.x or later) or
PGP (5.x or later) installed (PGP 2.x doesn't work).
GNU Privacy Guard Homepage: http://www.gnupg.org
Pretty Good Privacy Homepage: http://www.pgpi.net
First you need the public key of the the packager :
For GnuPG:
$ lynx --dump ftp://ftp.links2linux.de/pub/packman/public-keys.asc | gpg
--import
Or the datafile ftp://ftp.links2linux.de/pub/packman/public-keys.asc
dowanload and import like this :
$ gpg --import public-keys.asc
For PGP :
$ lynx --dump ftp://ftp.links2linux.de/pub/packman/public-keys.asc | pgp -fka
Or the Data File ftp://ftp.links2linux.de/pub/packman/public-keys.asc
dowanload and import like this :
$ pgp -ka public-keys.asc
With RPM und GNU Privacy Guard:
To do this you must create as user the file .rpmmacros with following
contents:
$ vi ~/.rpmmacros
%_signature gpg
%_gpg_name Waldemar Brodkorb (Linux rulez!) <brodkorb@onlinehome.de>
%_gpg_path /home/waldemar/.gnupg/
%_gpg_bin /usr/bin/gpg
Of course customised for your own login :-)
Now you can check all downloaded packages before installation:
$ rpm -vK package.rpm
Only using GNU Privacy Guard:
You need to download the sepeare ASCII Signature file of every package to do
this. (download with Browser or FTP):
$ gpg --verify package.rpm.asc
(when they're downloaded into the same directory as the package)
With RPM und Pretty Good Privacy:
To do this you must create as user the file .rpmmacros with following
contents:
$ vi ~/.rpmmacros
%_signature pgp
%_pgp_name Waldemar Brodkorb (Linux rulez!) <brodkorb@onlinehome.de>
%_pgp_path /home/waldemar/.pgp/
%_pgp_bin /usr/bin/pgp
Of course customised for your own login :-)
Now you can check all downloaded packages before installation:
$ rpm -vK package.rpm
Only with Pretty Good Privacy:
You need to download the sepeare ASCII Signature file of every package to do
this. (download with Browser or FTP):
$ pgp package.rpm.asc
(when they're downloaded into the same directory as the package)
How do I extract files singly from the RPM's/SRPM's
Very simply first list all the contents :
$ rpm2cpio paket.rpm | cpio --list
Single files can be extracted like this :
$ rpm2cpio package.rpm | cpio --extract filename
9. Why is the package choice restricted to the SuSE Distro?
This has several reasons :
o There are few sites that offer RPMs specially for the SuSE Distro.
o The Site is intended for German speaking LInux user's and SuSE is
widely distributed in Germany.
In spite of this, we plan to put on the Net various Debian packages, when we
have had time to figure out the Debian policy and package management system.
10. Where do I find more information about RPM?
Maximum RPM:
http://rpmdp.org/rpmbook/
RPM-HowTo:
http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/docs/HOWTO/other-formats/html_single/RPM-HOWTO.html
Manpage:
$ man rpm
11. Where else can I find RPM's for SuSE?
http://www.suse.de
http://www.mahowi.de/download/
http://www.suse.m-st.net/index.html
http://sourceforge.net/projects/rpmsforsuse/
http://www.netonecom.net/~bbcat
12. Where can I find out about changes made to the software in new package
versions?
rpm -qp --changelog Paketname.rpm
Mostly however the changes made to the pristine sources by the original
author are more interesting. These are mostly found in a file CHANGES or
CHANGELOG recorded. The files of installed packages can be found in
/usr/share/doc/packages/<Package>/. * Rob FHS/LSB correction *
Furthermore the changes are mostly found on the program Internet homepages.
Normally the Homepage URL is included in the PackMan-Uebersicht (Overview) ,
should it be absent or if the Homepage site shows no Changelog, then it's a
good idea over on Freshmeat.NET to make available the Homepage or a direct
link to the change log.
Almost every program will be registered on Freshmeat!
13. Can I help with the project?
Yes, register with me (waldemar@links2linux.de) and I'll explain everything
necessary to you.