Originally posted by Michael Steinberg:
And anybody tell me linux is better than windows. You need good memory to keep in mind which packages you have installed, which one you need installed, where all the configuration paths are etc.
I agree that it is good to have a stable running machine, however linux is not good for a normal pc user…
It had to be said…
Don’t let me disturb you.
RPM. Debian Package Manager. Even KDE Package Manager. These allow you to install and keep track of what you have installed on your system. I use RPM as an example.
Say you wish to install the program ‘Foo’; first find the file Foo-x.y.z-w.rpm if it is a binary rpm or Foo-x.y.z-w.src.rpm if it is a source RPM. Then type (as root):
rpm -ivh Foo-x.y.z-w.rpm
or
rpm --rebuild Foo-x.y.z-w.src.rpm
cd /path/to/newly/built/rpm
rpm -ivh Foo-x.y.z-w.rpm
To find out whether a program is installed (and which version is installed), type:
rpm -q Foo
You should get the output “Foo-x.y.z-w” if Foo is installed or “Package Foo is not installed” if not.
The numbers x, y, z and w are the major, minor, bugfix and RPM build release numbers. If you have Foo-0.61.1-1 installed and find Foo-0.61.2-1.rpm, you can upgrade seamlessly using
rpm -Uvh Foo-0.61.2-1.rpm (upgrade)
or
rpm -Fvh Foo-0.61.2-1.rpm (freshen)
You might need to add the option --replacefiles or --replacepkgs if there have been modifications to configuration files or the actual programs installed have changed. To uninstall, simply run
rpm -e Foo
For tons more information, check out the rpm manpage (if you use an RPM-based distribution - Redhat, Mandrake, SuSE, Caldera, TurboLinux…) or type
rpm --help
You can also find graphical front-ends to RPM, such as the above-mentioned KDE Package Manager or GnoRPM. This beats Windows Installer any day.
[This message has been edited by ShadowMan (edited 02-21-2001).]
[This message has been edited by ShadowMan (edited 02-21-2001).]