Hi, does anybody know of a graphical Portage/Emerge GUI, like synaptic etc...

If you do, please post.

Buck

If you were to do a search for "gui portage" on the gentoo forum and google, you would be surprised at the amount of answers. I tried gentoo for a couple of weeks and played with around 4 different GUI installers.

I was just looking for the same thing out of intrest. And googling "gui portage" brought me here Well it put a smile on my face so I thought I'd share.

Dave

Me too Dave

BTW i'll try Kuroo.
Here is the link to the site, so the next one looking for "gui portage" at google, can at least try this one (it seems really complete) I know there are a LOT of tools for manage portage.

(this is the link to the program)====>trac.kuroo.org

(BTW that rule about cant post URLs SUCKS)

--
Gonzalo Martinez
Jabber: Karmax@jabber.org

There is a package called Kuroo. It can be installed by emerge kuroo. You can find it inside your /usr/portage/app-portage/kuroo. You may want to run emerge on the latest copy of it using mc. If you don't have mc, emerge it and run mc. Switch to the directory listed above. Just highlight kuroo in mc, press F2, home and enter. In the commandline box enter emerge. Let it countdown and install. That's it!

A GUI for portage - wtf ??? ...

Next it'll be a GUI installer (that works) ...
Then binaries so people don't have to compile...

Bah humbug ...

Paludis includes a ruby interface. Switch.

I had the pleasure of meeting people like you in FreeBSD. Back when it was still 4.4 or something. They too complained about how things shouldn't be simple. So rather than beat my head against a wall trying to convince them of their misguided sense of superiority, I quickly left and came to Linux. I never went back! Now look at FreeBSD and compare it to the general body of Linux, and tell me which one is better in meeting the needs of the "larger community". That question can be easily answered by which has the "larger community"!

I have been a steadfast Slackware user much of the time since then. Although I have run ASPlinux, Redhat, Debian, Mandrake, Fedora and a few others. The one which stood out from all of them was SuSE. It was in fact SuSE-6.4 that started me in linux. Now there's a system that knows how to use GUI's. You haven't seen an installer until you've seen YaST. It is the closest thing to a perfect system management tool. There wasn't anything that I couldn't do in it. But I left SuSE for one very good reason.

SuSE for all accounts pretended itself to be Microsoft. Much of what SuSE provides is proprietary. And don't give me any crap about open-source with SuSE. Once you start devising your own methods which are completely at odds with the larger body of Linux, such as to limit the migration of users out of your system, THAT'S proprietary!

Lately, I upgraded to an Opteron 2000 series system. Now Slackware doesn't have a x86_64 port. So I had to find Slamd64 to meet my needs. It's a good system, but I am addicted to compiling packages. So I found Tukaani. Another good but new system. Really liked their tukbuild tool. After discussing what I would like to see in the future for Tukaani (specifically for x86_64), it was suggested that I try Gentoo.

Why am I going through all of this? Simple! People either get what they want, or they go elsewhere. Elsewhere right now is Gentoo-AMD64. I have installed a rudimentary build environment for it into which I chroot to build packages for a new distribution I am attempting to make for high-end 64-bit computing on the x86_64 platform. It will be the combination of all of the best I can acquire from any source available. It is intended to be an enterprise platform. Specifically directed towards SMP and (openMosix) clustering. Even with their insanely large machines, most don't want to spend time compiling software, unless it is specific to their projects. And even then, it's needs to be portable.

Now some of you like me may relish in building packages. Though I guess we can't call it packages if you don't have a distributable file for installation. I have tried Kuroo. It is good. I like building. But I want to see what I am doing and have done and easily keep track of both. That's what GUI's are for. Complaining about the use of GUI's is like demanding that people negotiate the world blindfolded. Not too many people would go for that, and neither do I.

Not everyone has the time or resources to compile their own software. And they shouldn't be penalized for not being able to. For the environments that I want my software used in, there is a need for consistency and portability. Gentoo is great for developers. Endusers need great software produced by great developers. Great developers need outstanding tools to make their work easier and produce more of it. So I am for every single GUI I can get my hands on!

While I agree that GUIs can be nice and a majority of users would prefer one, I don't think that equals "simple." I think a majority of Gentoo users, and Linux users probably, would agree with me when I said that the command line is only limiting to those who refuse to learn it. Why refuse to learn it? There is no good reason. Only apathy.

Simple question. Do you use a command line browser? The command line is only limiting to those who refuse to learn it. Why refuse to learn it? There is no good reason. Only apathy. Your logic can be applied to an array of things. All of which will have their adherents claiming the necessity of obscurity to obtain greater awareness. It is most like a religion. All in the pursuit of the contrivance of sainthood.

If your logic were fundamentally superior to all others, you would be bound by it to forsake all forms of graphical interfaces of any kind for any reason. There were some like you who resisted the advancement of programming languages beyond machine code. Assembler is the path to enlightenment. Yeah, right! Furthermore, if your logic were pure, you would have to reject all of the derivatives of graphical interfaces as well. And I am not kidding.

The position you have taken is extremely limited and contrary to the development of human nature. Your demand that newbies be bound by this archaic mantra, makes as much sense as demanding the return of silent films, because it would increase the ability of our society to learn to read more proficiently. Or how about just removing indexes from libraries, because it is better to know the placement of books by subject and alphabetical order. Do you really want me to go on?

It was specifically due to the graphical interface of SuSE that I was inspired to learn more about the underpinnings of the system. The more that I saw what Linux could do, the more I wanted to know how. If someone is not inclined to learn, all the deterrents in the world, to their readily using the tools they need to function, will no more inspire them than sucking through straws and strainers will enhance their experience of flavor. But, you can go ahead and just keep on sucking!

Yeah, actually I do use a command line browser on a regular basis. Its not that bad really you should try it.Past that I'm dropping it. You misunderstood everything I said.

I guess it just bothers me when people ask for help to find something, which some disagree with, they have to be preached to about how they should stick to someone else's way of doing things. I use links as well. Admittedly when I can't get my desktop.

However the guy who initiated the question, shouldn't have to be preached to about how he isn't working hard enough. Linux isn't always easy. Not everyone comes to it with the same frame of mind. What's most important of all, is that people come to it. If using a GUI gets them here, let them use one. Keeping them disoriented doesn't help them negotiate the already daunting task of acclimating to a new operating system.

Let's be realistic. Probably less than two percent of the general public "grows up" on an operating system that isn't graphically oriented. Now, you take the majority of people and shove them into a dark room they have never been in before, they are going to wind up with enough bumps and bruises without having to be chastised for wanting the "lights on".

So yes, learning command-line is better. Just be kind about it. We don't teach calculus in kindergarten. Think of whatever situations you may have ever been in and completely disoriented. Then hopefully you and everyone else who reads this can have some compassion. Of course, judging by your comments, you'd probably say you have never been disoriented. Having a GUI is like having a compass. It helps to establish points of reference to determine one's course of action. If someone is asking for a GUI, for whatever reason, telling them that they shouldn't want one isn't going to change the fact that they do. It's kind of like being lost. Someone comes to you asking for directions, and you respond by telling them they should keep stumbling around in the dark, because it will develop their sense of direction. This wasn't a discussion about how advanced anyone's knowledge of Linux is. The conversation isn't about you. It's about the guy who needs a GUI.

I wasn't so much arguing my point of view as defending his right to want a GUI. The guy is hungry, and doesn't need to be told he isn't hungry enough. Not every one likes eating with their fingers.

There are a few packages in /portage/app-portage that everyone who wants to use a GUI for package management ought to have a look at also. I am just learning about these, so those who already know about them can ignore this.

The one package that interests me the most is cfg-update. You can find information about it on the Gentoo Forums under; app-portage/cfg-update - installation instructions. Give it a look over and see if it will help you. Essentially for those who are new to Gentoo like myself, there are configuration files which often need to be updated after emerge is run. Depending on how many packages you ran through emerge, there can quickly amass a lot of them. This tool will assist in minimizing the effort and mistakes of that task.

Portage already comes with two tools to help you keep track of your config files.
1.) etc-update
2.) dispatch-conf

As some of you (me too!) have tried to emerge certain sources and failed, you'll be pleased to know there are tools to assist in managing the Use-flags for each and every ebuild of Gentoo.

The package I would like to direct your attention to is "ufed". Just run "emerge ufed" now if you don't already have it. I don't think it is installed by default. Once you run it, you will get a menu of every ebuild and their use-flags. You will see brief information for each flag and it's affect on compilation. Each flag can be simply set by selecting it. Having done so, you will see an "X" inserted in the selection box.

Check this out. It will save you a tremendous amount of time and frustration for all subsequent builds.

Gee. Should I start my own column? If you found this helpful, tell me.
Thank you!