On Mon, 2004-08-30 at 10:12, Paul Johnson wrote: [...] > > - What should I manage using packages and what should I manage > > using source code? > > If it has a package, use the packages unless you absolutely must > compile something from source that conflicts with how Debian compiled > it, then make your own Debian package so dpkg stays aware of what's > going on.
If you are going to do something strange like track upstream CVS or use something that doesn't have a deb, don't bother building a deb, instead install it in /usr/local (make install --prefix=/var/local). Put config files in /etc, and if necissary, use /var/local/<app> to store data, though /home/<app> is acceptable. Other directories are owned by dpkg, so don't stuff with them. IMHO if there isn't a deb, it probably isn't worth using, unless you wrote it yourself :-). The debian archive is a good indicator of what people are using and is supported. The biggest problem is it includes too much, so the fact that there isn't a deb tells you more than the fact that there is. -- Donovan Baarda <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://minkirri.apana.org.au/~abo/ -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]