Easy URPMI and dependencies

[sofasurfer]

In my quest for the missing dependencies which were brought to my attention while trying to install a RPM I came upon some articles about Easy URPMI. I did as the article said and downloaded the stuff by clicking on the dropdown boxes. I then pasted the URLs into my console and hit enter. All went fine except for one site which did not download. I am downloading it now.

 

Here are my questions...

1) Is what I downloaded a library of dependencies that Linux(Mandrake 10.1) needs but did not already have or is this just upgrades to my system? Basically, what is the purpose of Easy URPMI?

 

2) What are dependencies? Are they files which a particular program require to run? If so, why are they not included in the package?

 

3) When a dependency is missing, is it a piece of Linux that is missing and should have been there originally or is it a piece of the new package that I am installing and should not have previously been there?

 

4) Anything else I need to know and probably don't will be appreciated.

[bigjohn]

1. It's downloading the headers list according to the specification that you put in i.e. the distro/mirror that you opted to use etc. Urpmi then can tell, what you've got installed, what is available for installed and any available updates for what you've got installed. It doesn't tell you of any available newer packages that might be available (in most cases), unless it has been added to the list - usually from somewhere like the PLF. One of the exceptions might be security issues or similar - like if you see an update for kernel-sources, there will also be a newer kernel version available (but that is usually in the packages for installation "RPMdrake=+).

 

2. Dependencies, are software items that are needed by a specific package. They are often libraries and similar. I can't say for certain, but suspect that they're not always part of the actual package so as too keep the size of the package to a minimum + some dependencies are needed by more than one package - so what would be the point of having multiple versions of the same - library for example. If you system doesn't have the dependency, then it will usually install it when you try to install the main package.

 

3. No. You are best placed to understand the differences between a distro and linux itself. Linux is actually only the kernel of the system. Whereas the distro is the entire suite of packages that has been put together by a distro producer (sometimes commercial like mandrake/mandriva, sometimes community based - debian, gentoo + others). The rest of the dependency stuff is as per my 2. reply.

 

4. If you configured your external sources as per instructions from easyurpmi then great. Don't forget, they are the versions that where available when the distro was produced. In lots of cases, there will be newer versions available (to be able to update to the very latest version you either have to wait until it's available is a newer version of the distro, or it's been repackaged into a mandrake/mandriva RPM, or you need to change to a "meta-distro". Gentoo is particularly good at doing that, debian will do the same, but you would have to specify the actual version of it that you might be running because debian are famed for taking forever to move packages between the testing/unstable/stable versions of their distro).

 

It's fair to say, that if you've only just started with mandrake/mandriva (OK, linux in general), then for an intitial good experience of it, it is probably best/safest to only install packages obtained via your Urpmi setup (i.e. mandrakise/mandrivised rpms). If you try rpms for a different distro or even generic ones, there is a likelyhood that you will experience dependency problems that you won't see with just installing mandrake ones.

 

Once you've got your head round things, then maybe have a go at installing something from source/tarball.

 

It's all part of the learning curve. If you try to jump in before you're ready, you may also experience problems.

 

Oh, and the latest version of mandriva (formerly mandrake) is 2006. If you've got a CD or DVD burner, have a play to ensure it works, then download the latest version, burn it and install it.

 

If you do, don't forget you can check the integrity of the download with a single command. If you try the latest mandriva, it's probably better to not try the upgrade method. Most of those who know what they're doing seem to suggest a fresh install. Which can be made easier if you have a seperate /home partition. This is because you save any personal data (e-mail address books and similar) and you just install the distro into the root partition, don't touch /home and if you install the same software packages, the /home should "just work" (have a look at info about the /etc/fstab file so you know, or at least have an idea how it should look, so that when you logged into the newer version, the user login should work i.e. same username etc etc.).

 

regards

 

John