Re: basic info (so this newbie can quit bugging you pros)

[Kent West <westk@nicanor.acu.edu>]

pplaw wrote:

>

<snip>

> this is where i am:
>
> i've downloaded
> "/dists/stable/main/binary-i386/doc/man.db_2.3.10-68.deb".
>
> question:
>
> how does one actually read this file?  (is it a "text" doc? is it a doc
> that can only be read through linux?  if so, which program/command do i
> need?)

It's a "package file", containing such things as the program itself and configuration
instructions, such as where to install it and what questions to ask of the sys admin
during the installation/configuration, etc. You need to use the "dselect" or "dpkg"
or "apt-get" tool to actually install it. I believe that if you'll go to the
directory where the .deb file is, you can do the command (as root) "dpkg --install
man.db_2.3.10-68.deb" to install it. However, I'm not well-versed in the intricacies
of dpkg, so maybe someone else can verify/correct this.