Re: RPM and db3
On Sun, Feb 09, 2003 at 07:31:06PM +1100, Rob Weir wrote:
> On Mon, Feb 03, 2003 at 01:34:23AM -0500, Paul M Foster wrote:
> > When I try to run rpm to install an RPM package (yeah, I know), I get
> > the following errors, and rpm does nothing:
> >
> > error: Cannot open Packages index using db3 - No such file or directory
> > (2)
> > error: Cannot open Packages database in /var/lib/rpm
> >
> > This is Debian 3.0r1, with rpm, libdb3 and most other *db3 packages
> > installed. Any ideas why this is happening and what can be done about
> > it?
>
> GOOD $DEITY. Do not ever, ever, EVER use rpm on a Debian system. If
> you really, truly cannot get a .deb or tarball of the package, then use
> alien to convert the RPM to a .deb and install that. Even if you try to
> force RPM to work, you're going to confuse dpkg mightily ;)
I had the same problem, and I searched the archives back for six months,
and this is about the answer given every time.
I gotta tell ya, folks, this is a lame answer. You've deliberately
included a _broken_ package in Debian, which is just dumb for the most
technically superior Linux distro there is. Open Source is about
_choice_. If people want to run RPM, they should be allowed to. If you
like, put up a big notice when they install it, telling them they are in
danger of dropping off the cliff into the abyss and forever frying in
the hell of confused package managers. But fix the damn package and put
it in the distro, like everyone else in the world. (Yes, of course,
*debs are better; why do you think I use Debian?)
Paul
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