On Saturday 26 Jul 2003 12:01 am, Derek Jennings wrote: > > Thanks Derek, tis a lot clearer now . > > But , pray, tell this newbie , what is a "contrib", > > What's the difference between the various RPM, RPMS,and I already know > > SCRPM is source code rpm's , and any others. > > > > I find the various long list of rpm types confusing. > > > > John > > Contrib is the name of a folder on a Mandrake Mirror. > For example look at > ftp://ftp.rediris.es/pub/linux/distributions/mandrake/9.1 > > You will see it contains a folder called i586/Mandrake/RPMS That folder is > the 'main' distribution. It contains exactly the same packages as the > download CDs. (I have broadband so I use it instead of the CDs) > > You can also see a folder /contrib/RPMS This folder contains all the > packages which are not part of the 'official' Mandrake distro, but which > have been 'contributed' by various individuals who may even be Mandrake > staff members. Contrib contains literally hundreds of really useful > packages (such as Sylpheed) The packages in Contrib will not change. They > represent a 'snapshot' . To get updated versions of these apps you have to > look in places like texstar, mandrake club, or the download sites of > individuals. (Or compile your own) > > (You will notice that the i586/Mandrake/RPMS2 folder is in fact a symlink > pointing to /contrib/RPMS so these folders are both the same thing. ) > > derek
I thought I had better add this extra warning to my last mail :- rant/ If you look here ftp://ftp.rediris.es/pub/linux/distributions/mandrake-devel on a Mandrake mirror you will see the 'development' branch of the Mandrake distribution. In here is 'cooker' which is the folder holding the latest development version of the distro. The packages in this folder will change daily, and may contain some packages which are broken. Unless you are a experienced Linux user it is a *very bad* idea to install packages from Cooker. Especially if you are mixing them with packages from 9.1 . These packages have been compiled using a different set of libraries to Mandrake 9.1. They are unlikely to work in a 9.1 system. You will also see the folder 'contrib'. This folder is the current development folder for the unofficial packages. Again you should only use them if you know what you are doing. Many newbies download and install packages they find using www.rpmfind.net Be aware. Rpmfind will offer you packages from cooker and cooker/contrib If you try and install them you will run into dependency problems. Anyone tempted to use the --force and --nodeps switches to make them install will quite often break something. Every week this list gets posts from people who have done this. (Sorry if I am on my 'high horse' here, but I am often one of the guys who try to help people undo the damage they have inflicted on themselves doing this) There is *nothing* available from rpmfind.net you cannot get using urpmi sources (other than cooker packages and packages made for other distros) /rant derek -- ---------------------------------- www.jennings.homelinux.net
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