Benjamin Scott wrote:
> Given that past Debian installs have failed to even create a valid base
> installation, I would say, yes, they have improved! They are now at the same
> level as, say, Red Hat Linux 3.x. (In fact, the installers of RHL 3.x and
> Debian 2.2 are remarkably similar.) However, I sincerely hope Debian's latest
> attempt to revamp their installer succeeds. They are at serious risk of
> playing catch-up forever.
I can't understand why people hate Debian's installer so much. It's very
straight-forward, and as long as you know a little about your system (at least the
module you use for your ethernet device), Debian will install no problem. What do
you mean they have to play catch up? Their installer works, so what do they need
to catch up?
> I find RPM seems to make the process of simply installing a bunch of
> packages easier than dpkg. dpkg got itself tied into knots W.R.T. dependency
> ordering on large installs when I tried Debian 2.2.
I don't know what you mean here. It's so obnoxious when you install an RPM, to
have it tell you it has missing dependencies (like libcrypto.so) or such, where as
apt-get will show you the dependencies you need, download them for you, and
install them, if you wish.
> I definitely agree that dpkg/APT handle installation dependencies better.
> RPM only checks dependencies; it cannot solve them. External tools such as
> rpmfind/autorpm make things easier, but they still have the air of something
> bolted onto the side, rather than designed into the system. APT is a much
> more comprehensive system.
Whoops, didn't read this paragraph before answering the previous one. =P
> Red Hat's installer allows you to back up as often as you like. It
> generally allows you to skip most things, although generally not with an
> explicit menu option like Debian. Some things are a bit of a hassle, e.g., you
> have to proceed several steps into the X configuration process before you are
> given the option to skip it. :-( Talk about missing the point...
Amen.
>
> Red Hat's installer is single-pathed, AFAIK, but although I believe Debian's
> installer allows multiple paths, that feature wasn't used much (that I saw),
> so I suspect it may not be all that useful in practice.
I use alternative paths all the time, especially when I setup my partitions. On
some filesystems I make, I want the block size to be bigger/smaller, and its nice
to select the alternative to formatting a linux partition, which is just mounting
it.
> Hah. Hah. Using nothing but the CD-ROMs and dselect, I managed to hose up
> 2.2 pretty damn well. Actually, the system itself was working, it was just
> that dpkg pretty much had heart failure every time I invoked it, which made
> adding to the system rather difficult. I did this by undertaking a massive
> package selection/deselection in dselect right after doing the base install,
> so I just wiped it and started over. Maybe there was a better way to get dpkg
> unwedged, but I was not impressed.
>
> I guess, ultimately, dpkg has too much state for my tastes. An RPM package
> is either installed or it isn't, just like a file is either present or isn't.
> dpkg has selected but uninstalled packages, installed but unconfigured
> packages, configured but deselected packages, unconfigured reinstalled coaxial
> shielded packages, dyslexic agnostic Christian packages, etc., etc. I found
> it too over-engineered and fragile a system in that respect.
Well dpkg basically has these states.... installed, not installed, removed, and
purged. The first two are self-explainatory (installed or not).... removed just
removes binaries and libraries and leaves behind config files (and such), and
purge deletes EVERYTHING. I admin I was a bit overwhelmed the first time I saw
dselect, but you get used to it.
Here are some valuable tips to remember when installing Debian:
ONLY INSTALL THE BASE SYSTEM
I think this should be done on every system. In Debian 2.1, use the predefined
'Basic' pcakage list, and for 2.2, just hit finish without checking off any
predefined package lists, then install what you need (apt-get -u install
<pkgname>)
Another very valuable tip is run dselect every so often to resolve dependancies.
Just select apt as the first option, update the database of all packages, hit the
select option BUT DONT SELECT ANY PACKAGES, you hit enter, and it will tell you a
list of packages that should be installed (or that would be a good idea to have
installed), and install them. This is a sure fire way to make sure you have a
nice, healthy system.
>
>
> --
> Ben Scott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Net Technologies, Inc. <http://www.ntisys.com>
> Voice: (800)905-3049 x18 Fax: (978)499-7839
>
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