Re: DEBIAN REPOSITORIES FOR UBUNTU DAPPER ?
sai ram wrote:
Dear Friends!
I use Ubuntu Dapper Drake (on x86 pc) and wanted to install "isomaster" software package about which I read in a linux magazine. As this package was unavailable in my synaptic package manager with Ubuntu repositories, I downloaded the package from Debian website.
While attempting the installation, I encountered dependency errors. I believe these errors can be overcome by adding appropriate Debian repositories to the etc/apt/sources.list file of my Ubuntu OS.
Please
(1) clarify if I can have both Ubuntu repositories and debian repositories enabled at the same time ?
(2) Do I need any key to access the Debian repositories ?
(3) give me the exact debian package source location lines, that I need to add to my etc/sources.list file, so I can henceforth install packages from Debian repositories without any dependency errors.
sai ram:
Some details of the wording of your questions indicate a serious
misunderstanding of the relationship between Ubuntu and Debian. For each
question there are several terse, and accurate, answers that are also
seriously misleading. Ubuntu and Debian are both more than an operating
system. Each is also an organization of people who have joined together
to achieve common goals. For these two organizations, the goals are
similar, but not identical. For example, neither organization makes any
promise that its software packages will work safely when loaded into a
computer that is running the other OS. And neither collection of people
makes any claim to even know what will happen if you try. A lot
of work goes into packaging each piece of software in the Debian
repository so that the install process fixes all the picky details of
getting that software to install properly *on*a*Debian*host*. Only some
packages, where the maintainer happens to be interested in both Debian
and Ubuntu, are tested in any way for the other OS. And where the
maintainer does work on both OSs, (s)he probably doesn't produce a
single package that simply works on both. Rather (s)he produces a single
set of package construction source code that when run though the package
generation software turns out two different packages, one for Ubuntu and
one for Debian.
So to your questions:
(1) clarify if I can have both Ubuntu repositories and debian
repositories enabled at the same time?
You can have both repositories enabled by having more lines in your
sources.list, some for Debian and some for Ubuntu. It is not difficult,
but it will lead to grief, because you are mistaken in you faith that
the two will work together nicely, and there is nothing that the members
of either community can do to help make it work nicely.
(2) Do I need any key to access the Debian repositories ?
Yes. It is available as a package in the Debian repository. Installing
it might conflict with Ubuntu key installation. I don't know, but I'm
pretty sure both organizations use similar techniques for key
distribution and have given little thought to making the system work
when working on a different OS that plays by the similar rules.
(3) give me the exact debian package source location lines, that I need
to add to my etc/sources.list file, so I can henceforth install packages
from Debian repositories without any dependency errors.
There is a long list of local mirrors of the master Debian repositories
available in the Debian web site (www.debian.org). The easiest way to
find an appropriate Debian repository mirror is to follow the directions
for installing Debian on a separate partition on your computer.
A general remark: I have never worked with Ubuntu, but I have the
impression that a major goal of Ubuntu is to make computer use 'easy'
for non-experts. By contrast, my impression of Debian is that a major
goal of Debian is to make life easier for a sysadmin of a small to
mid-size enterprise, eg a public school system, a small college, a
mid-size business, etc.
Part of making life easier for sysadmins is helping them become more
expert at their job. To this end, the more expert followers of this list
try to give polite answers to questions however ill-formed they seem to
be. In contrast, making things easy for users leads to answers that tend
to hide the real complexity of a situation.
If you really feel that you need to ask questions on this list, it
indicates, to me, that you perceive the answers available here are
somehow more informative than the answers on a corresponding Ubuntu
list. But you can't really validate the answers you get here unless you
have a Debian system on which to test them. So, install Debian in a
separate partition. Continue to use Ubuntu as much as you wish, but
don't mix the two until you are confident that you are expert in both.
HTH
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