deb packaging depends
Hi,
Have you ever tried to install some of these deb packages on a
system without Internet? Try it some time and you will understand why
most of the people trying Linux distros for the first time quite. I am a
retired EE and even though computers were only in dreams when I was
schooled, I had to learn ASM and C++. When I wrote software I had to
make it stand-a-lone. In other words, a person had to be able to install
it on a system that was not connected to the Internet, and if it needed
add-ons, I had to add them in an INCLUDE file. This way the person
installing the package didn't have to look for LIB, or any depend files.
I have tried to get my 64bit laptop working on dial-up since Christmas
with out any luck. I am running Ubuntu 11.10 AMD(64) which does not have
any dial-up programs. At present every time I tried to install a deb
file, there was always dependences which were not included. At the
least, when you download a package, one should expect to see a warning
or note stating that there were dependences or necessary add-ons that
needed to be downloaded before the package would work. I have yet to see
this. I only find out after I go to my desktop, do a dial-up connection,
download the package, and try to install. Now is when I find out. I then
go download the dependences and now I find out that the usb-modeswitch
needs a lib not included. I download the deb file it says I need only to
get this message. "package architecture (KFreebsd-AMD64) does not match
system (AMD64)". It says in the file name that it is for the AMD64
architecture.
Now for my question, Can these depends, and LIB files not be
included in an INCLUDE or header file so that they can be loaded all at
one time without all the pain? It would seem to me that it should be
easy for a software EE (which I am not) to simply look at the system lib
or depend files, and if it was not present, to add and install it. I
realize that most of these packages are free and are takes a lot of time
for the people writing them but it also seems to me that adding these
depend and lib files would take little extra time (since they are
already available) after all the work done on the original package.
Thanks,
Glenn E. Irick Sr. Retired EE
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