-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Friday 26 December 2003 5:54 pm, Guy Rouillier wrote: <snip> > > The contrib directory on the mirrors have a synthesis.hdlist.cz file in > > them. In fact I think part of the reason that people have been getting > > warnings is there are two, a synthesis.hdlist2.cz plus > > synthesis.hdlist.cz in the three I browsed. Those files contain the > > descriptions. There is also an hdlist2.cz in (relative to the contrib > > tree) ../../i586/Mandrake/base > > > > that contains all of the information required if you have the GUI > > software manager (rpmdrake) set to show all information. That's the large > > one that takes forever to download. Relative sizes for the two: > > > > synthesis.hdlist.cz (in contrib tree) 275.9 KB > > hdlist2.cz (in base) 15.6 MB > > Charlie, thanks for the detailed reply. After you pointed it out, I got > back on gFtp and went back to Carroll EDU. I do indeed see hdlist.cz in > pub/linux/distributions/mandrake/9.2/contrib/i586 and two sythesis files > in pub/linux/distributions/mandrake-devel/contrib/i586. On this > particular FTP site I can't find the base directory you identify > relative to the mandrake-devel directory. Perhaps because this is a > devel directory? In the non-devel contrib directory, I do indeed see a > 16 MB hdlist.cz file.
There is a base directory in the trees for all releases, including for cooker (mandrake-devel). From the mandrake module on the mirror open i586/Mandrake/base. The mandrake module starts after the: /distributions/ It's where the md5sums, hdlists, and other odds'n'sods are. Click below to see it: ftp://carroll.aset.psu.edu/pub/linux/distributions/mandrake/9.2/i586/Mandrake/base If you use a browser and shorten the URL to leave out the i586 and subsequent parts, then (in Konqueror anyway) click View, View Mode and select Tree View you'll see what I mean more clearly. Click the URL below, set your browser as suggested and then open the contrib directory and browse to the packages. - From there to get to the /base directory use the "Up" arrow on the navigation bar twice, then open the i586 directory, Mandrake directory, the base directory. What you did manually is the equivalent of the "relative path to" sub URL I showed before: ../../i586/Mandrake/base/hdlist2.cz BTW the line above can be copied and pasted into the appropriate line of the Software Source editor dialogue. > > You did it correctly, but during most of the day the carroll.aset.psu.edu > > mirror will often not be available to anonymous ftp transactions. The > > bandwidth is reserved for the university, and people that have accounts, > > during business hours. > > Fortunately for me I'm a night owl, so I usually do this stuff after 10 > pm EST. Well that's two of us. <g> Late night is almost the only time I have to do anything anyway. > > The sub directories are required in the URL unless you're using a command > > line mirroring app such as rsync to mirror locally. Those kinds of > > applications use "modules" on the remote server so the instructions are > > slightly different. > > > >>(2) What is the appropriate thing to enter in the "relative path to > >>synthesis/hdlist" field? How do I know this without someone telling me? > >> For the second ftp directory above (the one that seems to have been > >>added completely, judging from the presence of descriptions), I don't > >>see any hdlist file in the ftp directory (I ftp'd there directly.) > > > > Since you asked. (-; You have to specify the directory containing the > > files/packages that you need. To get to the rest of the information about > > those files you have to use the actual hdlist and not the synthesis so > > you have to change directories. The relative path I showed above is > > changing two directories upward (../../) then following the path to the > > base directory. > > But how do you know that hdlist file two directories up (and over in the > base case discussed above) has details on the files you are looking at? > I tried downloading one of these hdlist files and they are apparently > binary, so you can't just browse them. The hdlist and hdlist2 etc are the list of packages in the corresponding directories. hdlist is main, 2 is contrib, 3 is jpackage and so on. They're compressed files so you can't "browse" them but the package manager has the protocols required to parse them into human readable (mostly; in the case of the synthesis files yes, for the hdlists most of it is for those fluent in "geek." <~;) form. The information includes all of the descriptions, dependencies, provides, etc from the packages themselves. The synthesis files are smaller because there's less information packed into them. I guess the answer to your question is just "Experience." I know that isn't quite satisfactory but it's the best I can do for now. Sorry. > > There are lots of man pages about all of the individual components but I > > don't recall ever seeing a complete "How-To." You may want to look on the > > TWiki, both the community one > > > > http://twiki.mdklinuxfaq.org > > > > and the one for Cooker > > > > http://qa.mandrakesoft.com/twiki/bin/view/Main/ > > > > Even if you don't find the specific article you hope for both are amazing > > sources of information. > > > >>Thanks, as always. > > > > Best of luck Guy. > > Thanks for your time, Charlie. > > Guy Rouillier My pleasure. I hope I was of some help. Charlie - -- Edmonton,AB,Canada User #244963 at http://counter.li.org Mandrake Linux release 9.2 (FiveStar) for i586 kernel 2.4.22-21.tmb.1mdk 18:11:55 up 6 days, 4:00, 1 user, load average: 0.75, 0.64, 0.72 Main's Law: For every action there is an equal and opposite government program. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.3 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQE/7OMgZqvqlrLPr5YRAqCxAJ9Ex6F9ZlJUViXp0bt4qQjsHz17DgCginVI I2exxl1eX5XGG39T8oN0Ni0= =REK5 -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
