[ale] Debian. Grr.

James Sumners james at sumners.ath.cx
Sun Feb 22 14:40:13 EST 2004


On Sun, 22 Feb 2004 13:05:17 -0500
Jim Popovitch <jimpop at yahoo.com> wrote:

> 2 things...
> 
> - He said that all he had was a base install...aptitude is not part of a
> base install.  'apt-get install aptitude' on a base install will force
> apt to process a lot of base updates first.  imho, it's better to get
> the base system stable before install new applications, especially those
> that have new dependencies.

I realize that he only has a base system running. That also more than likely
means he is more than likely running the 'stable' branch of Debian. Installing
anything with official stable apt sources will not destablize the installation -
that is why it is called "stable". So, doing 'apt-get install aptitude' will not
break his system and will give him an easier tool to use than dselect.

> - dselect, while not the best tool, is the most stable.  Apt, while user
> friendly, still has a way to go.  Even the Debian developers will tell
> you this. 

apt-get is probably the most userfriendly tool I have ever used for any Linux
distribution. It is simple, you type the program name, followed by the action to
perform, and then the packages to perform said action on. It is really a very
hand held process.

> I recommend getting a base system stable with dselect, and have done it
> many many times.  Once the stable or testing system is updated, etc.,
> then apt-get for applications works good.
> 
> -Jim P.
> 
> On Sun, 2004-02-22 at 12:04, James Sumners wrote:
> > 1) Forget 'dselect' even exists. If you want to use something like it then
> > use'aptitude'.
> > 
> > 2) Use http or ftp sources.
> > 
> > On Sun, 22 Feb 2004 02:59:04 -0500 (EST)
> > Joe Knapka <jknapka at kneuro.net> wrote:
> > 
> > > I'm trying once again to install Debian. My last attempt was in maybe
> > > '98 or so, and ended in frustration before I even got the machine to
> > > boot. This attempt is on the verge of ending in frustration, though
> > > the machine *has* booted a minimal Debian system from the HD.
> > > 
> > > The main problem I'm having is that "tasksel" and "dselect" seem to be
> > > user-unfriendly in the extreme.  So far I have not gotten "apt" to
> > > install *anything* but the minimal system. I boot the machine, run
> > > "base-config", and then I have to sit in front of the machine swapping
> > > CDs (*seven* of them) while it "scans them for index files"
> > > (presumably to figure out which packages are on which disks), taking
> > > about a minute per disk to do so. This is just enough time for me to
> > > get distracted by something else, so it probably amounts to more like
> > > five minutes per disk.  It may not be the case that I must sit through
> > > the "scanning" process every time I run "base-config", but I see no
> > > indication that it's *not* a requirement, so I don't feel safe
> > > skipping this.  Then I get into tasksel and/or dselect, and I
> > > invariably press some wrong key that causes it to start installing
> > > stuff before I've managed to select what I want to be
> > > installed. Oopsie, abort, run base-config, drat, have to scan all
> > > those bloody CDs again...  It's really a drag. Apparently I've been
> > > spoiled by Red Hat and Slackware installers.
> > > 
> > > Do I *really* need to let it scan every CD every time?
> > > 
> > > Thanks,
> > > 
> > > -- Joe Knapka
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Ale mailing list
> > > Ale at ale.org
> > > http://www.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale
> > 
> 
> _______________________________________________
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> Ale at ale.org
> http://www.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale


-- 

I used to be interested in Windows NT, but the more I see of it the more it
looks like traditional Windows with a stabler kernel. I don't find anything
technically interesting there. In my opinion MS is a lot better at making money
than it is at making good operating systems.  -- Linus Torvalds
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