Re: packages fetching tools
On Jul 25, 2004, at 8:16 PM, Nick Boyce wrote:
On Sun, 25 Jul 2004 13:30:50 -0600 (MDT), Bruce Sass wrote:
Since people keep telling us that apt-get is braindead, and that
aptitude does a better job, I tried that too, with similarly scary
results. Since aptitude's output is more compact, I include it
here.
In my experience, aptitude has its own set of problems. Alas,
nothing is
perfect.
Don't forget about dselect. If the APT tools are not giving you
enough control then maybe dselect will, especially if you don't use
the apt method for fetching packages.
I'm sorry ... I've used dselect. I still have bad dreams about the
hours I spent lost wandering round in there (not to mention in its
so-called help system). IMHO it's user interface exemplifies the
phrase "as user friendly as a cornered rat". I can't imagine what the
designers were thinking of when they dreamed it up.
Gosh, I never thought "/<packagename>" to search and jump right to it,
"+", <ENTER> was so difficult. Maybe a second <ENTER> to accept any
dependencies.
I understand that it (apparently) gives the best level of control over
packages, and it sure is very quick at whatever-the-hell-it-is that it
does, but I won't use it again unless I'm being beaten with rubber
hoses to force me to.
There are actually dependency issues that apt-get CANNOT resolve that
dselect can. Specifically when a package is added to the archives and
a new dependency is created, apt-get chokes on it saying that it will
hold-back the old packages, whereas dselect will show the problem and
allow you to accept the "fix" (adding another package) with a simple
<ENTER> if you agree.
If apt hadn't existed, I might even have been forced to give up using
Debian because of the thought of having to use dselect for package
management.
Methinks you doth protest too much. ;-)
[phew] I feel better now ... thankyou for letting me share that with
you ;-)
Same here for letting me point out that dselect is brain-dead easy to
use if you actually read the documentation and follow it. Most
commands are only a single-keystroke away -- genius.
--
Nate Duehr, nate@natetech.com
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