i am very slowly getting my slack10.1 system working (just got mouse and monitor working [almost] _perfectly_).

iv looked around (in kde, gnome, flux, etc) for a tool to update/install/remove software on this system and cant find one. i have tried in console (with normal user and root) for apt, apt-get, apt-install, and afew more variations (as i have no clue how to use apt-get but will have to learn it soon i guess!) and it isnt found. is there no apt-get in slack 10.1 installed by default? i believe i chose complete install when i set this up, so if it was included on cd1/2 it should be on here.. but i cant find it.

how should i proceed with this? or should i try and look for the official apt-get site and download and use the instructions there on setting up and installing?

thanks

Slackware doesn't use apt-get. You may want to check out Slapt-get which is like apt-get for Slackware packages (remember, slackware uses TGZs, not RPM or DEB packages).

hmm.. alright, thanks for the info.
im not well informed on this topic so ill probably screw up here but:
so slack doesnt use deb or rpm packages for the software on the system? it uses just tgz files? iv seen .tar and .gz but not .tgz, or are you saying tgz as a combination of both or like 'either-or'? so slack kinda invented a new package system? does that limit its popularity at all? from distrowatch it seems its not the most popular, does the package management system have anything to do with its popularity? i have the impression from what iv read that slack is not meant for everyone, really.. and that its just for those who want complete control over their computer and want to know how everything is done and why, basically.
so is using slapt-get the only way to manage the software on the system, in a global kinda way? is slapt any less powerfull than apt-get you think?

sorry for the 8,000 questions here, lol.. just letting my fingers do the talking. im on the slapt site now and will try and read some of the readme, download the file, reboot to linux and copy it over and see how the install goes.
thanks

Read this section of the Revised SlackBook for information on Slackware packages:
http://slackbook.org/html/package-ma...EMENT-OVERVIEW

Also be aware that:

* Slackware packages do *not* resolve dependencies - that's your job
* By default, Slackware does not have any auto-updating tools
* On /extra on the third CD, you will find slackpkg, which can be used for updating packages as well (you could also look at Swaret, which was previously bundled with Slackware).

wow.. there's so much wrong with what you're saying..

nothing wrong with that, prepare to learn your face off.
.tgz is just a .tar.gz with a shorter extension, same format, same meaning.
for the record, slackware had the first decent packaging system.
slapt-get is undoubtedly less powerful than apt-get, due to what some consider limitations in the packaging system. in reality, any power that slapt-get lacks is directly handed to you, the slackware package system has no dependancy support, there is an dependancy implementation used by archlinux(based on slackware) and linuxpackages.net, but no official slackware packages use it.

the official methods for package management are pkgtool, installpkg, removepkg and upgradepkg.

there's slackpkg and swaret for doing these sorts of things too.

i knew i didnt know what i was talking about with apt-get or package management.. and i specified that prior to going into detail.
other distros i have tried use gui frontends to easily manage software, therefor i would have never had to know what apt-get even was. slack is different thats why i dont know what im talking about.. you were too once like that

indeed I was, but I origirally downloaded slack on dial-up and had lots and lots of time to read the book, I also started on rpm based distros, so the details of my noobidity were entirely different

have fun!!

its true.. i kinda wish i heard about linux about 4 or 5 years ago when i had dial up and couldnt be online for hours.. that way i would be forced to (after spending 17hours downloading a distro) to install it and learn it inside and out. thats one benefit of dial up, heh.. very true though.

now its just so easy to go online and look for help or solutions, without doing much research yourself.

im not saying i dont research stuff, but, im saying in general, globally.

I would imagine that you could just compile every program from source too

sidenote- when i was a n00b I started out with good old apt-get, never installed a distro that didn't. my install disc was bad so I had to repeat parts of the install over and over again. yep installed a minimal install soon learned how to use apt-get

You might want to check out encap. It's a packaging system developed at the University of Illinois. It works for encap packages, and source packages as well.
The epkg utility of encap is used for installing source packages. It will install the source package in /usr/local/encap/<filename>. When you want to upgrade that source package, download it, and envoke epkg to install it.

In any event, epkg will install the entire package in the location mentioned above, then symlink files to their otherwise normal installation location. When you install an updated package, the new one is installed as described above, and the old one removed.

There is also a utility called stow which does basically the same as encap.

You might want to check out encap. It's a packaging system developed at the University of Illinois. It works for encap packages, and source packages as well.
The epkg utility of encap is used for installing source packages. It will install the source package in /usr/local/encap/<filename>. When you want to upgrade that source package, download it, and envoke epkg to install it.

In any event, epkg will install the entire package in the location mentioned above, then symlink files to their otherwise normal installation location. When you install an updated package, the new one is installed as described above, and the old one removed.

There is also a utility called stow which does basically the same as encap.

Be advised that, for encap or stow to be able to upgrade a source package, it had to be installed using encap/stow. Normally installed source packages aren't covered by encap/stow. Though, you could uninstall a package you want to upgrade, then reinstall it with encap/stow, then upgrade.

there a good gui for that one? or for others? i think i saw one for slapt..

would slapt be the best way to go, probably?

i also read about pkgtool, which is the package management tool taht comes default with slack.. is there anything wrong without installing another one, and just using the default?

I'd say slapt is the best for you, since you know more about it than others, it really doesn't matter, pkgtool is, in my experience useless for installing packages. I use it to browse for packages I want to remove and remove them. to install packages manually, just use installpkg. for automatic downloading and upgrades, use slapt-get, slackpkg or swaret.