cga wrote:
I am currently switching to Debian and I have a bunch of utilities, wmaker applets, etc.. in source format that I would like to reinstall on the new system. Unfortunately a number of these are not available as .deb's. As I see it I can either copy them to /usr/local/tarballs & do the usual ./configure/make/ make-install dance or try to create .deb's myself. This last approach being probably the more dangerous. Is there any place in the Debian literature where this issue is discussed? Any guidelines concerning source(non-debian) install on Debian system? Are there any tools that might help automate the conversion of source packages to the .deb format?
The new maintainer's guide talks about how to build .deb packages. It is the most "academically correct" solution. For a quick and dirty solution, use checkinstall. It is in unstable. Basically you do this: tar zxvf <your-source-package> cd <your-source-directory> ./configure <with-desired-options> make su checkinstall make install Answer the few questions at the end to tweak the version and package name to your liking and viola, you have a Debianized package that integrates with your package database for your non-Debian source package. I have used successfully for several projects I am developing. I olnly wish I had known about it sooner.
My main goal at this point is having a system that's "clean" to start off with and will remain as "clean" as possible for the foreseeable future - ie. not some a-la-win95 system that needs a complete reinstall every couple of months. I understand that Debian might provide exactly this but I am concerned that by the time I become a little more experienced with its packaging system I may have polluted this new system beyond repair. Please advise. Thank you.
HTH, -Roberto Sanchez
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