I have written a couple posts about this , and they have been helpful ( thanks to the great Linux community). The main question though seems to not get answered though (maybe it's my poor writing skills).
I want to install most of my software through a packager like RPM. I also want to be able to install software from source if that software is not in RPM ,DEB or TGZ (I use red hat right now but plan on switching, most likely Slackware because of the slackware forum).So the question is this:
If I install most of my software through a packager then i install some software from source(call it Y), then install a package (call it Z) that is dependant on Y (and only Y, no alternatives). Will the packager (RPM, DEB OR TGZ) install Z correctly? And do one of the packagers have a way of correcting this?

Also I would like a program like APT that can resolve dependencies. Plus I would like to use the best and most suppported packager.

Thanks,
A dedicated Linux user

If an rpm (Z) depends on Y, then it may not install properly, but you can always use the "-nodeps" option to get around this

It's not that cut and dry, you'll need to try it.