Re: help with installation

[Laura Conrad]

>>>>> "Jan" == Jan Nieuwenhuizen <address@hidden> writes:

    Jan> The good thing is, that if you're missing a dependency, you can be
    Jan> sure that the missing package is in the archive too; you don't have to
    Jan> go googling the internet for it.

So what's the dpkg/apt for "Tell me what package this file that seems
to be missing is in?"  The solution I found was the package search on
the debian site.

    >> Or at least that is the conclusion I come to based on the fact that
    >> upgrading from the current stable to the current testing version
    >> caused me not to be able to get into X because the default font
    >> wasn't installed.

    Jan> You just had some bad luck, but you were asking for it.  

No, my initial install from the stable disk also had a missing file
that prevented me from getting into X. (My video card was an S3, so it
didn't install the svga package, but something X needed was there.)
And I find all the install instructions in the Debian site almost
incomprehensible, and I'm fairly good at reading docs.  I really think
they aren't getting as much testing as the redhat/Mandrake stuff gets.
(Which is less than it needs, given how much fiddling they do with
their packages.)

    Jan> If you're tracking testing or unstable, you're using
    Jan> experimental stuff; you may experience this kind of problem
    Jan> maybe twice a year or more.

But the so-called experimental stuff is quite old compared the the
Mandrake so-called stable stuff.  Which is a problem for me, since
some of what I do wants to have fairly up-to-date kernels.

    Jan> The main practical advantage of Debian, imo, is that it has so many
    Jan> packages, including all their dependencies.

Most of what I find with Debian packages also has RPMs.  I was
thinking of switching partly for the political reasons, and partly
because of the Mandrake/Redhat history of screwing up packages like
tetex and ghostscript that are important to me. (Not to mention the
Xemacs help system, which has been broken for at least 3 years.) But
Debian really seems hard to work with.  And if Debian can't keep X
working, do they really do better with tetex and ghostscript?

-- 
Laura (mailto:address@hidden , http://www.laymusic.org/ )
(617) 661-8097  fax: (801) 365-6574 
233 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02139