INSTALLING SOFTWARE
URPMI
Software comes in many different
kind of packages, urmpi , rpm and tarball are the most popular, but
there are a bunch of other ones too, just take the Phoenix browser;
just unpacking it and creating a shortcut from the phoenix script to
the desktop is all there is to it ! ( The wet dream of every Linux
starter ! )
Tarballs can be a real hell because of lib dependencies ( The nightmare
of every Linux starter ! )
Today we'll introduce you to urpmi, a kind of rpm with gold-plating,
because all dependencies are taken care of automaticly.
You have to be on-line to download and install the packages though !
Urpmi does not only download the rpm you want but also all packages
needed to make the install successful , easy as cake !
In
Mandrake urmpi works through the Mandrake Control Center -->
Software Management --> Install software. After adding sources to
your list ( more about this later ) you will find all available
packages, hundreds of them, where it says: “all packages by group”
change “by group” in “by source repository” and you will get a list of
the sources you added and the packages they carry. I added 4 to the
usual CD1, CD2, CD3, Mandrake Update: Texstar, plf, thacs and club
comm. But you can add as many as you like.
The nice thing is that if
you choose a package, in the right pane will appear a short summary of
what the software is about and what files it will install on your
computer.
If you click right on the pane you can even indicate that you want
normal or maximum information.
O.K. Here is the site you got to ( bookmark it, tattoo it on your left
arm ! ):
http://easyurpmi.zarb.org/
Do read the instructions twice !!
I
strongly recommend to leave the first three for what they are, the
interesting stuff starts at “3. External add-ons” LPF and Texstar. The
Texstar packages are pure gold and often less buggy then the official
Mandrakesoft ones !! ( realplayer is the absolute proof of this
statement ) More sources will come available here shortly.
I've got “thacs” as well, specially for
music-making-manipulating-software:
This is the site:
http://rpm.nyvalls.se/sound9.1.html
This is the urpmi-source:
urpmi.addmedia thacs.rpms
http://rpm.nyvalls.se/9.1/RPMS
with hdlist.cz
As
contributing member of the Mandrake club I have a 4th one, but believe
me or not , the software you will find on the first 3 is more
interesting and enough to fill your + 100GB disk !
THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT:
Copy
and paste ( select with your mouse, press wheel to paste ) the line you
found in a console ( first < su > ) and be sure you are on-line
while you do.
As soon as you pasted it, lay back and see what
happens. . . . . it adds the database to your rpm database. Wait for it
to finish and do the next one, and the next one.
Good, go back to
the MCC and see all those packages in the list.
And don't forget you have to be on line to install them !
When
you install software from plf ( Penguin Liberation Front ) a message
may appear that the software has “no official mdk signature”, never
mind, just ignore, sure Mandrakesoft would NEVER support these packages
( there is a hack to prevent these messages, but who cares ? )
WARNING:
Always verify ( left bottom ) how many MB you install will be and how
much space you've got left ! If you install more then you have space
for your system will crash for sure, happened to me, means a complete
re-install. ( don't say I did not warn you )
If you would like to know more about the Penguin Liberation Front:
http://plf.zarb.org/
Bruno
-- Apr 26 2003 ( Revised Dec 11 2005 ) --
