On Mon, 31 Mar 1997 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I think the answers to some of your questions are already built into the Debian package management system, dpkg.
> I am a un*x guru, but a Debian newbie. I apologize in advance if the > following three questions indicate avoidable ignorance of the proper usage > of dpkg. I recently installed dpkg and dpkg-dev 1.4 only to find that it did > not remove the obsolete files of dpkg and dpkg-dev 1.2 > (e.g. /usr/doc/dpkg/*.txt). > > A. How can one install debian packages without giving superuser > privelages to the person who assembled the package? Personally, I don't know. However, you can download the source for the package, examine it yourself, compile your own version, and then install it. > B. How can one cleanly remove a debian package? >From the command line: dpkg --purge package_name > C. How can one cleanly remove a debian package that failed to install? At this point, the best way is to find a version of the package that will install, reinstall (even if you have to downgrade the version), and then purge the installed version. Note that the situation you describe occurs only if there is a bug. In a bug-free universe, it would never happen. > I think the answers to these questions are serious enough to decide whether > Debian linux will grow or die. Interesting. > A. How can one install packages without giving superuser privelages > to the person who assembled the package? > > 1. Superuser creates a directory /usr/packages/<newpackage> and gives > ownership to tool.bin. > 2. tool (an unprivelaged user) extracts the tar file into directories > [bin, lib, etc] under /usr/packages/<newpackage>. > 3. tool builds, compiles, configures, tests, etc. the package under > /usr/packages/<newpackage>. The ordinary permission system > prevents tool (an unprivelage user) from unexpectedly > interfering with any other package. > 4. (After satisfactory testing) Superuser symbolically links (or > copies) the necessary files to where they are avialable to > the community. > > B. How can one cleanly remove a package? > > 1. find(1) and remove all symbolic links to /usr/packages/<package>/... > 2. sudo -rf /usr/packages/<package>. > > C. How can one cleanly remove a package that failed to install? > > 1. find(1) and remove all symbolic links to /usr/packages/<package>/... > [1. is seldom (never?) necessary, since they won't be generated > until the package installs correctly.] > 2. sudo -rf /usr/packages/<package>. > > [Most system administrators I know used personal scripts to implement > a variation of the above. opt_depot is a set of scripts from Denver > University(?) that implement the above.] [I personally add a directory > /usr/packages/<package>/original in which I put the original tar file, its > license, description, and a journal of installation, configuration, and > maintentance activity.] > > --- My understanding of traditional un*x package management. --- Perhaps you should discuss your ideas with the dpkg maintainers. Cheers. Syrus. -- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Syrus Nemat-Nasser <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> UCSD Physics Dept.
