Re: deb vs. rpm

[<kvaughan@bc.cc.ca.us>]

On Mon, Apr 26, 1999 at 06:54:32PM +0200, Thorsten Manegold wrote:
[...]
> I heard that it's supposed to be supperior. As a matter of fact that 
> is the main reason for me to try Debian (I started out with SuSE and 
> am still using it. However I don't like the way they package things 
> as it's not compatible to rpm's that I find on the net since they 
> aor usually for RedHat).

Isn't the compatibility issue addressed largely by alien (though certainly not
every package under the sun translates well)?  I may be off mark here, but
I'd guess the problem childs for alien stem primarily from dependency
clashes (e.g. libc5 vs. 6), followed by poor QC in the structure of the rpm's.

One worthy thing to do is a careful search of the .debs available when you
are looking for a specific tool.  I have on several occasions wasted my time
trying to compile/set up a package off a developer's site, only to discover its
existence as a .deb later.
 
> Where can I get a more detailed comparison?

Seems to me the best comparison is to run both for a while.  That way you
will see what each is like, up close and personal.  Doing things the way
_you_ go about it.

Kenward