[SOLVED] package manager not there, just installed this morning, 14.1

i am new to slackware, i just installed it (14.1 downloaded this morning also) this morning so i could build an lfs distro. i have been having bad luck with suse and debian, so i tried slackware. it turns out i was not root when i was supposed to be or something. anyway, i like the slackware and want to play, but i tried to compile the gcc and it said there was no g++ installed on the system. so i tried to use the package manager, slackpkg, to install it. it says command not found, so i went to the mirro page and disabled one, then looked at the config file, and tried again. it says it's not there. i'm not sure, but it sounds like maybe something got screwed up on install or something. this is the config file:

# slackpkg.conf - Configuration for SlackPkg
# v2.8
#

#
# SlackPkg - An Automated packaging tool for Slackware Linux
# Copyright (C) 2003-2011 Roberto F. Batista, Evaldo Gardenali
#
# This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
# the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
# (at your option) any later version.
#
# This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
# GNU General Public License for more details.
#
# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
# along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
# Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA
#
# Project Page: http://slackpkg.org/
# Roberto F. Batista (aka PiterPunk) piterpunk@slackware.com
# Evaldo Gardenali (aka UdontKnow) evaldogardenali@fasternet.com.br
#

# For configuration options that have only two states, possible values are
# either "on" or "off"

# Remember, the only official Slackware ports are x86, s390 and arm, and
# slackpkg developers don't have s390 boxes for testing.  If you are
# testing/using other architectures and have suggestions or patches, 
# please let me know (piterpunk@slackware.com)
#
# Select the architecture of your system. Valid values are: 
#	i#86 (where # is 3, 4, 5 or 6)
#	x86_64
#	s390
#	arm* (* can be v4, v5tejl, and other ARM versions) 
#	powerpc
#
# The line is commented because slackpkg will try to find your 
# architecture automagically.  If you want to override what slackpkg
# finds, put the value after the = and uncomment this line
#ARCH=

# The default PKGMAIN is "slackware", but some derived distros use other
# names as the main directory.  PKGMAIN is the place with the slackware
# package series (a, ap, n, ... ).
#
# Usually slackpkg can automagically discover this variable.  If you want
# to override the discovered variable, then uncomment this line and change
# it to reflect the correct value of PKGMAIN
#PKGMAIN=slackware

# Slackware packages are signed by project key.  Slackpkg uses this key
# to check if the packages downloaded are valid, so remember to set 
CHECKGPG to "on". 
# 
# Usually slackpkg can automagically discover this variable. If you want
# to override the discovered variable, then uncomment this line and edit
# as needed
#SLACKKEY="Slackware Linux Project <security@slackware.com>"

# Downloaded files will be in directory below:
TEMP=/var/cache/packages

# Package lists, file lists, and others will be at WORKDIR:
WORKDIR=/var/lib/slackpkg

# Special options for wget (default is WGETFLAGS="--passive-ftp")
WGETFLAGS="--passive-ftp"

# If DELALL is "on", all downloaded files will be removed after install.
# DELALL=on

# If CHECKMD5 is "on", the system will check the md5sums of all packages before
# install/upgrade/reinstall is performed.
CHECKMD5=on

# If CHECKGPG is "on", the system will verify the GPG signature of each package
# before install/upgrade/reinstall is performed.
CHECKGPG=on

# If CHECKSIZE is "on", the system will check if we have sufficient disk
# space to install selected package. This make upgrade/install safer, but slow
# upgrade/install process.
CHECKSIZE=off

# PRIORITY sets the download priority. slackpkg will try to found the
# package first in the first value, then the second one, through all
# values in list.
# 
# Default value: patches %PKGMAIN extra pasture testing
PRIORITY=( patches %PKGMAIN extra pasture testing )

# Enables (on) or disables (off) slackpkg's post-installation features, such
# as checking for new (*.new) configuration files and new kernel images, and
# prompts you for what it should do.  Default=on
POSTINST=on

# Post-installation features, by default, search all of /etc for .new files.
# This is the safe option: with it, you won't have any unmerged .new files
# to cause problems.  Even so, some people prefer that only the .new files 
# installed by the current slackpkg session be checked.
# If this is your case, change ONLY_NEW_DOTNEW to "on".
# Default=off
ONLY_NEW_DOTNEW=off

# The ONOFF variable sets the initial behavior of the dialog interface.
# If you set this to "on" then all packages will be selected by default.
# If you prefer the opposite option (all unchecked), then set this to "off".
ONOFF=off

# If this variable is set to "on", all files will be downloaded before the
# requested operation (install or upgrade) is performed.   If set to "off",
# then the files will be downloaded and the operation (install/upgrade)
# performed one by one.  Default=on
DOWNLOAD_ALL=on

# Enables (on) or disables (off) the dialog interface in slackpkg.  Default=on
DIALOG=on

# Enables (on) or disables (off) the non-interactive mode.  If set to "on",
# slackpkg will run without asking the user anything, and answer all questions
# with DEFAULT_ANSWER.  If you do any upgrades using this mode, you'll need to
# run "slackpkg new-config" later to find and merge any .new files.
BATCH=off

# Default answer to slackpkg questions. Can be "y" or "n".
DEFAULT_ANSWER=n

# Slackpkg allows a template to "include" the packages specified in another
# template.  This option enables (on) or disables (off) the parsing of
# any "#include" directives in template files.  Default=on
USE_INCLUDES=on

# Enables a spinning bar as visual feedback when slackpkg is making its
# internal lists and some other operations.  Default=on
SPINNING=on

# Max number of characters that "dialog" command can handle.
# If unset, this variable will be 19500 (the number that works on
# Slackware 10.2)
DIALOG_MAXARGS=139000

#
# The MIRROR is set from /etc/slackpkg/mirrors
# You only need to uncomment the selected mirror. 
# Uncomment one mirror only.
#

and i uncommented one mirror, then logged out and back in. am i missing something? seems like if the files are there, it should work. have a great weekend.

Did you make a full Slackware installation? To compile anything you'd better have installed at least all the packages from series A, AP, D, K, L. But it's a lot simpler to install *everything* (but maybe the KDEI series) so you won't miss any dependency. Bear in mind that as there is no automatic dependency resolution in Slackware, without a full installation you're on your own.

In the other hand, if you install everything you'll have all you need to properly compile programs.

PS You ran slackpkg as root, did you? If for some reason the $PATH for root is screwed up, just run (as root, of course) /usr/sbin/slackpkg. But /usr/sbin *should be* in root's $PATH.

thanx for the reply. yes, i did a full install. and the only user i have on the system so far is root, it was the only way that anything would work, so no need for another user yet. i reinstalled the os, and it cleared up all of the lfs problems i am having, but the slackpkg still doesn't work. i ran the command you suggested and it worked. so, it appears you called it and the $PATH is messed up somehow, because when i run slackpkg by itself, it says command not found. i am going to go ahead with the lfs build and try to finish it before tackling this problem, it looks like after i finish, i can edit the .bashrc file and fix it since it did indeed get installed. i really like this slackware, i have always been a little intimidated by it before, but now i am getting into developing more, and it is great. i can't wait to try my own custom build after i iron out the lfs. again, thanx.

Originally Posted by sfzombie13 thanx for the reply. yes, i did a full install. and the only user i have on the system so far is root, it was the only way that anything would work, so no need for another user yet. i reinstalled the os, and it cleared up all of the lfs problems i am having, but the slackpkg still doesn't work. i ran the command you suggested and it worked. so, it appears you called it and the $PATH is messed up somehow, because when i run slackpkg by itself, it says command not found. i am going to go ahead with the lfs build and try to finish it before tackling this problem, it looks like after i finish, i can edit the .bashrc file and fix it since it did indeed get installed. i really like this slackware, i have always been a little intimidated by it before, but now i am getting into developing more, and it is great. i can't wait to try my own custom build after i iron out the lfs. again, thanx.

First things first, create a normal user with "adduser" and make him/her a member of all groups. This way, most things will work. I have never used slackpkg before, so no help there.

the lfs book said to create a user called lfs for the tool build in chapter 5, but when i did that with suse and debian, it gave me permission errors. so when i installed slackware, i left the adduser part out and built them all with root. i was getting an error about g++ not being there, so when i tried to use slackpkg to put it in, it said command not found. i reinstalled, and it was there and working, as i noted above, and the links are just hosed. as everything is working on the build, i am going to ignore it for now, i may try to fix them later, maybe not. thanx for the advice and help.

Are you trying to build a LFS, Linux from Scratch from a full Slackware installation? I do not think I'm following you.

yes, that is the reason i have been faithfully converted to slackware. the idea is ultimately create a customized oz for end users that hate win 8 and liked xp. i am a little late on it, but still interested. it would be mostly for businesses, and i wanted to get a client/server setup so they could enjoy useability and ditch microsoft. i would provide the os and a short training period for free and sell tech support under a maintenance contract through my business. so i figured, what better way to do it than just do it, and the prospect of a step by step guide was a definite plus. i have only asked three questions and am installing gcc-4.8.2 in chapter 6 today. i have to admit, the package management was what kept me away for so long. i originally tried linux back in '95, talk about a nightmare! then i got into it with ubuntu 5 something in '03 or thereabouts and it was much nicer.

back to the problem, after the reinstall it fixed itself, so i marked it as solved, stoat and reaverxx (i forgot the numbers) helped out a lot. i am not touching anything until this lfs is done, i haven't even shut the computer down. it's good practice for when i convert it to a web server next week. the next project is to get a dozen ancient machines running slackware and using them as a super computer. i hear that it's not too hare, just need to have software written for it.

LFS is generally for hobbyists and definitely not for businesses. You can streamline a default Slackware to your needs, you do not have to start from scratch! If I'm not wrong someone (can't remember his name) is doing that already (search for MLED in this board).

I'm not a programmer myself and started using Slackware 15+ years ago (after testing Red Hat, Suse for a week or two). During the years I tested several more distros (Ubuntu, Backbox, Kali, Mageia and a few more) just because of curiosity and have not found a more stable and snappier distro than Slackware. The closest one to Slack is probably Mint Debian edition.

Back to topic, a full install gives you more than everything you need. Instead of building LFS, get rid of things, apps you do not like in Slackware and focus on the business/marketing side of it.

LFS is actually great for learning.... Off-course if you just "copy/paste" blindly, it's useless, but otherwise it's great.. It gives you a general, more better ideea of what happens in any Linux distro underneath the daily usage

It's nice to see your problem gone away and I know LFS can be build from Slackware (since I've done it).. But arsivci0 has a point... If you want an OS you can customize after you've build (B)LFS then stick with Slackware since you would already have a base that is solid and tested..

I don't see the point in trying to convince someone not to do what he or she intends to do (building LFS on Slackware in this case).

Why not simply help people to do what they want to do?

Further more sfzombie13 has marked this thread as [SOLVED].

didier, you are correct. in this case, however, they may have a valid point. i think i will strip the slackware down and further customize it in order to get something up and out before they have all sunk their money into windows. the lfs is mainly for learning, i have learned so much in the week+ i have been playing with the lfs build. i should be done with it sometime this week, but the knowledge i have gained will remain. thanx again for all the advice. i like slackware so much now that it is dual booted onto my work machine, windows will be hardly used now.

You should perform at least these actions first to get the package management working at least for updating purposes:

1. Select a mirror from /etc/slackpkg/mirrors and uncomment only one line and save the file. I recommend the USA TDS networks servers personally.

2. Run this command sequence:

slackpkg update
slackpkg update-gpg
slackpkg upgrade-all
slackpkg install-new
slackpkg clean-system

This should update everything, install any new packages found, and remove any outdated packages. Though do take care clean-system will target SlackBuilds and other 3rd party packages, so use with care and keep track of packages.

if you need to install packages from the disk or a SlackBuild you can use:

installpkg <name>.t?z - This simply installs a package.
upgradepkg <name>.t?z - This removes an old package in favor of a newer version and asks if you'd like to replace, keep, or update any configuration files.
removepkg <name> - This will remove a selected package. It might not remove a configuration so you'll need to carefully track these down.

You can also run:

pkgtool - This Loads the NCurses Slackware Package Tools Interface

I would start with a full installation of Slackware to give yourself a solid foundation to build B/LFS with while you read the books and follow along. As mentioned, don't just copy-paste commands. Read what those commands do, and try to type them out yourself getting used to doing so.