On Mon, Sep 14, 1998 at 04:36:13PM -0500, Nathan E Norman wrote: > : 1) Once I've got everything installed in a basic way, how do I build and > : install the world myself? In NetBSD, it's as easy as "cd /usr/src ; make > : build". What's the Debian equivalent? > > There isn't one - most Debian packages come precompiled. This makes it > easier for new users to install things.
Um... Okay. I guess what I'm looking for is more of a "core system" sort of answer. Id est, I'm wondering how I go about configuring a kernel and building userland. Or, is it the case that in Debian *everything* is a package? That's sort of an intriguing possibility. Is kernel configuration not done through compilation? I'm quite new to GNU/Linux, as far as real administration and development issues go, so perhaps my mental model is wrong. Basically, other than Quake and Netscape, everything on my home box was compiled right there... Kernel, standard programs, X... Everything. I'd like to start using Debian the same way. I have no particular *need* to do this, other than the fact that I like playing around with random sources and customizing things mildly, as desired... > If you're using the ftp or nfs methods for dselect [...] it's easy > to install the latest version of package x. So, am I correct in guessing that everything's a package, including kernel sources and standard things like "vi" and "ls" and "ps," etc? Or, are you describing things from a non-developer's point of view, with a different model existing for developers? My view of what I'm looking for is fairly well described in the following NetBSD web page: <http://www.netbsd.org/Releases/current.html>. BTW: My frequent references to NetBSD things aren't an attempt at trolling... NetBSD is simply what I'm more familiar with... > If you're a real BSD bigot (no slight intended) you may be distressed by > some of the System V falvor of Linux, such as rc directories for > runlevels. Of course, there is a Debian package (file-rc) to make > things more BSDish. Hm... Actually, I'm not too worried about that bit. I'm subjected to both Solaris and HP-UX at work, so I'm familiar with the runlevel model. I like it, in some respects. On Mon, Sep 14, 1998 at 03:36:49PM -0600, John Larkin wrote: > > 3) Is there an equivalent to the NetBSD practise of a nightly sup of > > current sources? > > What's a nightly sup? There's a repository of source code that's been added to the body of code making up the NetBSD (FreeBSD, whatever) standard distribution. A program called sup (software update, I believe) can be used to go out and retrieve everything that's changed since the last time you ran it. So, I keep a copy of the entire NetBSD source tree on my system, and use sup nightly to keep it in sync with everyone else. Then, once in a while - typically once every week or two - I compile and install the system. It's all typically pretty painless, assuming the state of the source code is currently somewhere where it will build without errors, and it lets me have cool new toys as they appear. It also puts me in a position where I can send useful feedback to developers that have more of a clue than me. I assume there's an equivalent system for Debian...? Thanks, all, for the help so far, and thanks in advance for answers to the clarified and expanded questions I've just posed... :) I've got all the Debian 2.0 stuff available now, so I'll probably see about installing it tonight, if I get a chance. It'll be installed by this weekend at the absolute latest. Later... -- Mason Loring [EMAIL PROTECTED]/mason "In the drowsy dark cave of the mind dreams build their nest with fragments dropped from day's caravan."--Rabindranath Tagore..awake ? sleep : dream;
