Debian User Guide to Packages
jslour@nervo.com writes:
> Dear Debian Documentation Project,
>
> I've just finished my resume on how to manipulate Debian binary
> packages.
> I believe that, on the users' perspective, this is the main component
> of the Debian Package System.
[...]
> I'd like to know if the DDP finds any interest on my resume and if I
> should go into a Debian user manual.
I guess what you're trying to do is the Debian Packaging Manual for
the rest of us? (I.e., non-debian developers). Assume, say, a
Slackware user switching to Debian.
> title:
> Essentials on Debian Binary Packages
How about "Users Guide to Debian Packages" ?
If so, I think it's a good idea, although I almost think it should be
a part of the wider "Debian System Administration Guide". However, I
don't want you to take this as discouraging. I hope you will put your
document into the GPL, and continue to work with us on helping out
users new to Debian.
At any rate, while I like the outline you have so far, I fear it may
in fact just be reproducing a lot of the information a user can get
from the manual page etc. However, so long as you focus on tasks that
a user is likely to want to do, then you're in pretty good shape.
4.3.dpkg
4.3.1.Install or unpack a package
4.3.2.Configure a package
4.3.3.Remove and purge a package
4.3.4.Display the status of a package
4.3.5.List packages
4.3.6.Locate package owning a file
Maybe more sections for:
What's /var/lib/dpkg all about?
How to deal with broken packages (i.e., how to recover
when a broken postrm script fails and you cannot remove the package,
that is, how to find and edit the maintainer scripts when all else
fails).
A full sysadmin guide, in my vision, would retain the gearing towards
users knowledgable in Linux and Unix but not Debian, and would talk
about:
* why messing around in /usr/lib /usr/bin etc can be evil (but it's
your life)
* adding cron jobs cleanly (i.e., file in /etc/cron.d/)
* compiling the kernel, managing kernels and modules
* turning off daemons, messing w/ init levels
* using the alternatives mechanism
It would *not* talk about unix basics or things which are normal linux
stuff (i.e., how to configure a kernel).
I know this is offtopic for you, but I personally think that this
Sysadmin Manual is the context into which your document should be
placed. Again, I don't want to discourage you to write what you have
proposed; rather I would try to situate it within a larger document
which any linux user could look at to get a feeling for how to
maintain a Debian box.
I am not volunteering for this job unfortunately. I have to focus on
meeting my current committments, which I haven't been doing such a
good job at recently. However, I do have a 1 page HTML file
containing a few tips which could be used in such a document.
.....A. P. Harris...apharris@onShore.com...<URL:http://www.onShore.com/>
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