Re: Why is debian "more of a learning curve" than Redhat???
Marcus Brinkmann wrote:
>
> But you never now if you are safe to replace or keep it, are you?
True enough, but the safer option is to not allow the installer put in
the older version. That way if the software I'm testing doesn't run, I
can trash it. However if I had let the installer go ahead and replace
the older DLL, and if then my Windows system didn't run after reboot,
I'd be in big trouble. :)
>
> I'd
> > *love* to see a fully windows-based linux that allowed installations
> > that simple (and reliable). Just Drag and Drop - and yer done.
>
> This won't work, because Linux does run on many platforms under many
> displays, under many network configurations and so on.
Well, since in the case of the Mac System Folder Drag and Drop, the
system knows which sub folder(s) to put the new file(s), I should think
it would be possible to extend that concept to automatic dpkg-equivalent
run and automatic dependency checks. If a system/platform/configuration
isn't a GUI, then perhaps an automatic installer that was triggered by
something like copy a:*.* c:*.* would be an interesting idea.
>
> You have to differ between user installation and system wide integration.
> You have to care about shared filesystems and many other things. Windows
> installation software can make many assumptions that are not true in an unix
> environment.
>
> Therefore it is easier to automate an installation of windows, but it is
> also easier to break it ;)
Perhaps like the RedHad system, all those assumptions could be made
ahead of time (with more limited functionality initially). Then if you
add additional packages later, perhaps there could be a command (if
there isn't one already) that would do a pre-scan for dependencies and
set up an install script that would make the "best guess" for what to do
to eliminate them. Then running that script would both eliminate the
dependencies and install the desired package..... ??
> If you try to install all from a Debian CD, I would be very unconfident that
> *you* know what you are doing ;)
<chuckle>
>
> You should first just install the standard packages (those are selected
> automagically). Just go directly to install, do not select more packages.
Good point. I'll take that route next time. Thanks for the suggestion.
> You can also use "which <program>" if you want to know, which version of a
> program gets started. If you have the same binary under /usr/bin and
> /usr/bin/local, you can check with "which", which of those will be executed
> with your current PATH setting (earlier PATH's get searched earlier).
Cool, but that command doesn't appear in the Linux Man book I have. I
have the 2nd edition. Is that specific to either RedHat or Debian, or is
it one of the newer commands?
> Yes, exactly. Just install anacron, and you are done. It is quite easy,
That also isn't documented in the man book I have. Is it also one of the
newer commands?
> Not exactly. /etc/profile is for *system wide* configuration (every user
> will have those variable settings). If you only want to configure your
> account, you should use ~/.bash_profile
>
> The "dotted" file is hidden - try "ls -a ~" to see it.
Thanks for the specification of the difference and the command to see
it. :)
> You will probably see that you never need hex dump of files. I thought I
> would need it, too (look at the "od" program), but I soon found out that I
> can do everything with my text editor or standard unix tools.
Just the same, it's nice to know there is that option. Now I have
another bookmark in my Man book - at the OD page. :) Thanks !!
> Perhaps it was Xemacs. Emacs is a world for itself ;)
I just checked the CD case: yup, you're right.
> Look at the LDP project (sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/doc/LDP or so).
> they have a user guide.
gzipped and not readable in a browser. An interesting situation: the
documentation for installing Linux is most easily available if you
already have Linux installed. :)
> You are welcome, but it is a long way 'til you find out that it is not easy
> to make things easy ;) (There are a lot of special needs to care about).
I know it's not easy, Marcus. But that's what makes it worth doing, I
think....
Dave
--
--David E. Scott Ohio Administrative Services
DaveScott@1000islands.com acq_scott@ohio.gov
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