Re: Noob question - best way to install software
On Sat, 14 Apr 2007 16:50:59 -0500
"Russell L. Harris" <rlharris@oplink.net> wrote:
> * georgepwhite@comcast.net <georgepwhite@comcast.net> [070414 16:28]:
> > I've been using Debian for about a month, and just upgraded to Etch.
> ...
> > I am wondering about the best way to install software. I have used
> > the "apt-get" method, which is pretty simple, and have also
> > downloaded and compiled from source "tarballs" which is a little
> > more complicated but doesn't seem to be a big deal. Are there
> > significant advantages and disadvantages to these methods, besides
> > just convenience? I worry about dependencies, and maybe messing
> > stuff up with "apt-get update."
>
> The Debian package manager was created because there is need for a
> package manager. You would be a fool not to use it.
> However, there occasionally is need for an application which has not
> been packaged for Debian, and Debian has provision for installing such
> packages.
>
> Unless you are a guru or a masochist, immediately after using tasksel
> to install a desktop, you should install synaptic, if it has not
> already been installed by tasksel. Then use synaptic exclusively for
> installing Debian packages from Debian repositories.
>
> Synaptic also was created in response to a need. It is stable and
> reliable. I have been using it exclusively for at least a year,
> during which I have not been plagued with problems of the sort
> reported almost daily by those who directly execute the lower-level
> package tools apt-get and aptitude.
apt-get and aptitude aren't lower level than Synaptic; they are just
cli or GUI (dpkg and perhaps dselect are indeed lower level). Aptitude
in particular is generally much more powerful than Synaptic. Most
problems encountered with apt-get / aptitude are either network
problems, update synch lag, gpg key problems, or other problems with
the basic dependency system. I don't believe that using Synaptic
eliminates most of them. If you've had a good experience, I'd say
you've just been luckier or more skilled.
Celejar
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