Adam Di Carlo wrote: > I note with interested your RedHat -> Debian HOWTO. Would you like to > see this included in the "official" or semi official debian > documentation? The DDP (debian doc project) can offer CVS areas and > maybe even find a nice package for placing it. We'd probably want to > convert it to debiandoc-sgml so we'd have a nice way to format it as > text or HTML or whathaveyou. Thoughts? > > .....Adam Di [EMAIL PROTECTED]<URL:http://www.onShore.com/>
Sure! I tried to submit it once to the LDP and never got a reply. :( I've been busy with a new job the last few months and haven't put any more work into it. I did also write a utility in perl to convert any other style password file conforming filesystems such as Red Hat, Slackware, or whatever to the Debian format, basically after hand editing the password and group files to be similar to the Debian format as far as uid's and gid's were concerned, it goes out and chowns and chgrps files to conform to the new passwd and group file scheme. It can be found at: http://www.geocities.com/ResearchTriangle/3328/conversion-tools.tar.gz It was actually developed in attempts to convert the Slackware "ZipSlack" UMSDOS version to Debian... The password/group conversion worked successfully. but the Debian install on top of that UMSDOS system went awry afterwards!!! :( I wanted to make a ZipDebian :) But apparently the UMSDOS filesystem isn't as robust as it could be and the Debian conversion failed when dpkg tried to install the timezone package. I think there were too many files or directories in one subdirectory for UMSDOS to handle. :( Ah well. I now have a little more free time, and can work on this more. I really don't have any usable test-bed systems to perfect the procedure more and for other Linus distros, but will be of any assistance in sprucing up the documentation on what was done. NOTE: I'm still using the test bed RH->Deb system now and never once have reinstalled a fresh Debian on it. (so I still have a few RH files laying around that dpkg neither knows nor cares about :) I did successfully upgrade from Hamm to Slink though :) NOTE: I and Johnie Ingram (aka Netgod on IRC, and [EMAIL PROTECTED]) talked a "Slackware guy" on #linpeople at irc.us.openprojects.net through a detailed procedure to install glibc2 dpkg and alien on his libc5 Slackware system (so he could install Debian packaged games on his Slack system :). The sticking point was installing the Debian version of ld.so on top of his slack version, both came from the exact same code base version of ld.so so it was a little icky, but it happened. I don't even remember all the details. :( But we made a Happy Camper[tm] and Debian Convert out of him :)) I think if enough work is done, the process of conversion can be distilled into an automated process of some sort, with full robust checks and backout / undo points all along the way. I'm by no means a programmer, and have never really dealt with SGML or the associated tools. But I'm all ears if anyone want's to be a mentor in that area for me 8c) And I'd love to get involved with Debian as a package maintainer as well one of these days. Maybe I'll package the first "Microsoft GPL'd" software package, Cricket... or Super MRTG... heheh, Microsoft isn't all bad, they just don't understand the true meaning of free software :) Go RMS! But alas I have no routers to play with. But I will be attending the USENIX NETA Networking Conference starting next tuesday and will attend the Cricket technical session, in hopes of learning something :) If you can help me out with this project I would be grateful! I'd love to do up my mini-howto in SGML format and put it up at the LDP and the Debian Doc Project. Cheers, Brock Lynn --------------------- PGP 43 3C 3B CB CE 4B BF D3 F4 59 BD 97 92 DB 48 9C __ _ Debian GNU R. Brock Lynn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> / /(_)_ __ _ ___ __ www.debian.org irc.openprojects.net / / | | '_ \| | | \ \/ / / /__| | | | | |_| |> < World Domination, of course. \____/_|_| |_|\__,_/_/\_\
