Re: Re: Re [iPAQ] Running initimate under familiar.

On Wed, Mar 13, 2002 at 01:49:09AM +0100, Goetz Bock wrote:
> a) tried to install Intimate about a month ago and did an apt-get
>    update, apt-get upgrade. The effect was that it tried to installe a
>    new glibc but realised that some packages still need the old one. The
>    result was i could not install the new glibc, but was unable to
>    install the devel packages for the old one, too.
>    This was before my holiday, and I was unable to compile any c code
>    during my holday ...)

Unfortunately intimate is using the debian UNSTABLE feed at the moment
(by default - you can easily change that!) and the unstable feed is,
erm, well sometimes it is downright unstable :O)

All you need to do is edit /etc/apt/sources.list and change the
references of "unstable" in lines starting "deb" to "testing".

When the current testing becomes the new stable things will be even more
steady.

> b) tried to install ssh yesterday. apt-get install openssh (not found),
>    apt-get install ssh ... ssh-2.9.x (forgot it) not found. Did not find
>    it on ftp.debian.org cause it's in non-us. found it in

add a non-us line to your /etc/apt/sources.list

> c) today I wanted to install the tiny httpd (thttpd), and apt-get
>    insisted to install exim, libsasl2, mimetools and some other stuff
>    especially, what for heavens sake SHOULD I WANT TO NEED to install a
>    mailer (and than WHY exim) if I just wanted a small/simple httpd.
>    and why libsasl

No idea - maybe it needs to mail errors or logs? could make a dummy "I'm
an MTA" package.

> d) Once apone a time I wanted to install some software from debian into
>    my RPM based PC system, and realised that the one debian patch
>    contained various sub patches, most of them I did not want/need. but no
>    patch had 
>    - information where it came from
>    - information what it was supposed to be intended to fix

The changelog in debian/changelog or /usr/doc/<PKG>/changelog.Debian.gz
should have info about the source of patches.

>    half a day extracting one patch for a nifty feature.
>    (BTW: I'm talking about the synamic maps features of postfix, added
>    by the postfix debian maintainer)

The current debian "one patch for the whole packaging" thing is
sometimes a pain. There are some debian tools which can manage multiple
patches for you, but there aren't many package maintainers that have
used it (mostly cos it is hard work to understand... :O)

> e) deselect is just as broken as a user interface can get.

It's lovely! Use aptitude if you can't get your mind round dselect.

> f) autostarting of services just sucks, but than only Trustix realised
>    that less can be more (alias more=less ;-)) and tries to minimase
>    inter package dependencies and does not start ANY servies, after you
>    installed it.

Why?

You prefer to start everything manually?

> g) My iPaq has: discard, daytime, time, ssh, http, X11 (+1 I can not
>    remember, and for some reasons the route is down) as open ports,
>    while I only asked for ssh and http.

Defaults - don't ya just love em. Have a look at the "harden" and
"harden..." packages - they close down unnessery stuff.

> Maybe I'm just not made for debian, but I now have a working (native)
> ARM compile station and will try to build rpm later this week. (iPaq
> toying is not my day job, unfortunately)

I've playing with most packaging formats - Debians is the most
comprehensive and the debian policy is the most consistent and
comprehensive of any out there. It's not perfect, but closer than the
rest. IMHO.

--

Paul