Re: Is `.deb' still better than `.rpm'?
From: Mark Carroll <carroll@cis.ohio-state.edu>
> Just curious: Are there still advantages to the Debian package
> management system over the RPM system?
Several. We support pre-dependencies, which make upgrades a good deal
more foolproof, as well as regular dependencies. Debian packages are
easier to build (especially now with "debmake", it's practically
automatic). We have automatic conversion of Red Hat and Slackware
packages to Debian packages.
> By extension, if `.rpm' becomes superior to `.deb', will Debian
> switch?
I think the Debian packaging back-end (dpkg) is _finished_ software.
It could have some small changes made to it, but it does what we need
it to do. The _front_end_ (dselect) is the part that should be
compared to other distributions, and the part that needs improvement.
> Hmmm - isn't it true that there's work at the moment towards giving
> Debian the ability to use RedHat packages?
It works now. Download the latest "debmake" package and run "man alien".
Bruce
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Bruce Perens K6BP Bruce@Pixar.com
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