Re: How to download a package?
Quoting - (radsky@ncia.net):
> This may seem like a stupid question but how do you download a Debian
> package?
> (Yes, I'm a really low level newbie)
> My hangup concerns these preliminaries before performing a
> download.....
>
> 1. Should all downloads be done by root user or can any user do it?
>
> 2. What directory should be set as the active directory in the
> command line?
It's not important. If you're using apt, then you'll naturally be
root as you're also installing the .debs you download, and the
files will end up in /var/cache/apt/archives.
But the downloading itself can be done by anyone to anywhere, and it
doesn't matter if the names get mangled (e.g. on a non-vfat DOS disk)
so long as you download them as binary. "dpkg -i mangled-name"
will install whatever is in mangled-name.
Sometimes I download a package to my home directory just to look
inside, with no intention of installing it anyway.
> I've done a lot of web searching, read many books and haven't found any
> information about preparation BEFORE downloading a package.. I have
> downloaded a few packages as root user and downloaded to root's home
> directory ' /root' but haven't yet tried installing because it just
> doesn't seem right to do it from /root for fear of screwing up the
> system. I know how to move a package to a different directory if that
> will help, but to which directory?
>
> Is /root a good directory to download into or is there a better choice?
/root isn't a good place in principle, if only because it's normally
in the / filesystem (with multiple partitions) which is likely to
be too small (mine are 32--64MB). /tmp if you don't mind it
disappearing when you next boot, or just a subdirectory in your home
directory would be adequate. (I use a vfat zip-disk which makes sure
it gets taken home for my machine there.)
Cheers,
--
Email: d.wright@open.ac.uk Tel: +44 1908 653 739 Fax: +44 1908 655 151
Snail: David Wright, Earth Science Dept., Milton Keynes, England, MK7 6AA
Disclaimer: These addresses are only for reaching me, and do not signify
official stationery. Views expressed here are either my own or plagiarised.
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