Re: What virtual package is "minimal system"?
On Sat, Feb 25, 2006 at 12:48:25PM +0100, Joris Huizer wrote:
> Andrei Popescu wrote:
> >On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 10:39:39 -0500
> >hendrik@topoi.pooq.com wrote:
> >
> >
> >>I managed to install etch on my AMD-64 system, except that in the
> >>package selection I could not even ask for it to nstall "minimal system"
> >>because of dependency conflicts. Neither could I do manual package
> >>selection -- it just never did that part of the installation even though
> >>I had reqiested it.
> >>
> >>But aptitude will run on my newly installed system.
> >>
> >>So my question now is, what virtual package to I ask for in aptitude to
> >>get the equivalent of "minimal system" during installation?
> >>
> >>-- hendrik
> >>
> >>
> >>--
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> >
> >
> >What do you consider a minimal system might be totally different for
> >others. When you get to the base-config you already have the minimum to
> >run a machine ;)
I noticed. And even the networking aptitude needs. Very useful. And
I'm using it. It's not the file server for my home network. I'm still
not using the machine directly because the installation is so minimal,
but I moved my home directory to the new machine from another that
found itself severely diskspace-challenged, and I'm now using an NFS
home directory with *no* *problems*.
I'm glad I could complete the installation without the designated
"minimal system" and get something usable.
> >
> >Andrei
>
> One way to get the system to be really minimal, is to mark *everything*
> as auto-installed (M in aptitude), and then to select those packages you
> need to be there as manually installed (m in aptitude)
> note that this is not for newbies - if you forget to mark some packages
> as manual, that are necessary for, say, network support, or something
> else you require, you're in trouble
>
I'd worry about forgetting the packages necessary to run aptitude and
the keyboard and monitor in textmode... I suspect that 8al* the
dependencies aren't there ... for example, most commands don't have a
dependency on the shell that you need to have so you can type in the
comand and execute them. Strictly, of course they don't need a shell to
run -- there are other ways of launching a program, such as the one that
the kernel uses to launch the shell. Another example is X, where the X
clients don't need the X server, because, after all, you could be using
an X server through the internet on a maching halfway around the world.
I wasn't looking for a *truly* minimal system. I was looking (perhaps
misguidedly) for the collection of packages I usually get during
installation when I select "minimal system". I would select that
virtual package, and make any adjustments necessary to resolve the
conflicts I encountered, and install. As it is, I keep doing
things and finding out they don't work, switch over to aptitude,
installing packages containing the missing commands, and so forth.
Maybe I should just continue in this way and things will stabilize.
-- hendrik
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