Hi Brad; unless Mutt is confused, you wrote: ---stuff snipped here--
> Depending on the particular package, recompiling for slink can be as > simple as "apt-get --compile source packagename" (with a new enough > version of apt, of course). The versioned Perl dependancies and such can > be fixed by editing debian/control in the downloaded source. Sorry for jumping in here, but I'd like to add my two cents in. I am using Debian for 4 years now, or close to that, but these must be the most confusing 6 months I remember if you are a Debian user. Could Debian management (do they read this group at all?) decide what is the direction they will be taking _and_ post that on the official Debian web-site? Isn't that what the site is for? Instead of going thru the archives of the debian-devel and such? I agree with the original author of this thread, if slink is current stable release, why not update the non-essential packages every, say, major upstream release? Leave the libc6 and other essential packages where they are now... I am, and I think other non-computer-oriented users, would be happy to take the risk of my window manager not working quite right, knowing we can back out of it without breaking the whole system. Now, to the apt thing. I am in a great minority here, but is it still possible to fetch the packages (say in potato) and command-line-install them (remember dpkg --install my.pkg.deb?). I have recently tried to update my XFree to 3.3.4 from ftp.netgod.x using this method and it wouldn't go. Why am I asking about apt? Because I prefer control dpkg is giving me; I always disliked Windows way of " Updating files now" thingy leaving me clueless on what is being updated. And I prefer to know that upfront rather than reading the changelogs after the fact. read more on this below. And if I have to get sources and apt-get source them, I am better off just compiling them myself and again, use dpkg -i ( after getting debianized sources, that is). > It's not standard, but check out ftp.netgod.net/x. Many slinkified apps > there. They _used_ to have only slink stuff. New Navigator packages (just tried them after downloading them and doing my dpkg thingy) are apparently compiled against libc2.1, xlib6g 3.3.4 or higher and libstdc++2.9-libc2.1! If I did apt-get, would the system go off and updated my libc6 to satisfy Navigator 4.7 ( is Naviagotr tarball from Netscape really done up against libc2.1 or is that internal to Debian?) without me realizing this and just answered (foolishly) yes to upgrade? I realize there will be lots of answers with people pointing out that apt can do this and that, but my question stays: can I just use dpkg command after dowloading packages manually even if they are meant to be used with apt? Sorry for being way too long, but I thought this an appropriate thread to ask this sort of thing. TIA, damir
