I am very happy with Slack 13.1....The ease and simplicity is outstanding...I remember my DOS days when I downloaded an exe file and ran setup.exe to install an app...Pkgtool is much similar to that!

No heavy grafix, complications , needless updates etc...It is absolutely Pure , Simple and smooth! I am not flattering anyone to get the qns answered and is my humbe opinion!

I would like to know the following

1. How to auto boot a user bypassing login screen ? I know it is against security...But I am the lone user..

2. I have currently installed "sbopkg "...I am also visiting http://slackware.eu for searching packages...Else I try downloading an app in rpm format from Fedora or OpenSUSE repos and convert to tgz and install from there(make install way)...But I guess in my last attempt to install Gnomebaker , it listed some missed dependencies and I had to note it down in a paper and try searching for those (some library files gtk2+,libgnomeui etc)...I installed chrome browser as a txz package..The Icon is there but it is not opening on clicking it.

How do you decide the best way for installing a package? Also how do you handle dependencies?

In your KDE System Settings (control panel), click on the advanced tab -> Login Manager -> Convenience tab.

If you're using Xfce, Settings -> System Settings.... (It's still the KDE control panel).


I usually never have problems finding the software I want now that I discovered Slackbuilds. Instead of gnomebaker, have you tried k3b? If you use Xfce on Slackware, you can still run k3b.

I'd avoid installing a lot of RPM or .deb packages on Slackware, because installing them could overwrite files installed from official Slackware packages.

The Slackware package mgmt system doesn't keep dependency information, so you'd have to do a lot of investigating. If using sbopkg, look at the README for the file you want to install, it averages a paragraph-long, and it clearly will state which deps you need, and they are always available from SlackBuilds.

Moved: This thread is more suitable in <Linux-Slackware> and has been moved accordingly to help your thread/question get the exposure it deserves.

If you can't find a Slackware package, and have to get a .deb or .rpm, src2pkg can convert them to a Slackware package. Comes with plenty of documentation.

http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/...nload/src2pkg/

Thank You Brian and Andy..

I was googling and hit upon alien bob and slackbuilds..But it was too much for me as I am not from the programming background!

I was thinking the best way to install is to use the native packages or download and build from source

It is interesting to know that you can convert packages from other distros to a slack one..

But I guess a purist may not approve of this conversion method and rather try to build from scratch! But as long as the work is done its fine I guess!

You don't need to be a programmer to use SlackBuilds. Another very handy bit of software is sbopkg, which makes dealing with SlackBuilds quick & easy.

http://www.sbopkg.org/

sbopkg uses the data from the SlackBuilds site. It'll save you a lot of time from downloading sources, configuring and making yourself. They don't offer pre-compiled packages/binaries, but sbopkg uses the scripts from SlackBuilds, and builds your package.

So don't worry if SlackBuilds is overwhelming; if you're using sbopkg, you're using SlackBuilds.org.

I didn't notice you already had sbopkg. I must learn to read posts properly before replying!

For Alien Bob's stuff all it takes is a single installpkg command. Slackbuilds.org packages are not that much harder. I have a tutorial on Slackware package management:

http://www.genek.net/LinuxAdventures.../slackpkg.html

As you already found sbopkg, check out the brilliant "queuefile" system mentioned at their site. It saves *a lot* of time finding dep's, as they will be built and installed automagically in one go. It is a fantastic job done by those people!
Download a complete collection of queues here and knock yourself out...

Thanks a ton 2handband and Janekrille...

This dependency stuff which other distros boast about is just a cosmetic makeover..If you look deeply you can very well get all the info you need before installing...

In fact I feel anything "Automatic" is dangerous....I remember when I accidentally tried to install a GNOME package in KDE in Debian...It sort of pulled all GNOME libraries into the installation

I agree that the system would give the user a choice before installing about the size and packages which would be installed...But nevertheless if you are sort of new , general tendency is to press "Y" and only later you realize that you have installed extra unneeded packages

You'll fit in well here

The Queue system is fantastic , but upto how many levels it will fetch the dependencies ? For example there is a main application which has a dependency "A" , "A" has a dependency "B", "B" has a dependency "C"

If I mention "A" in the queue file , will it automaticlly install "B" and "C"?

Also if for dependency "C" , "A" is listed as a dependency what will happen ? There would be an infinite loop I guess ..The system will look for A and install C and again try to Install A ....meaning there would be a never ending loop?!

Most of the time you will have to check the README file for the specific slackbuild. For instance Google Chrome requires GConf and ORBit2. ORBit2 requires GConf so of course you will have to build and install ORBit2.

EDIT: If you use SBOpkg it is really easy to manipulate and arrange the queue for which dependencies you need installed first.

EDIT2: It's late and I just read your post again, helps if I pay attention. SBOpkg does not add dependencies to the queue that are required you will have to add those and arrange them to be built accordingly.

There are two schools of thought here. Some like tinkering and are more concerned about package handling than others. If you're working with hardware that is capacity limited for whatever reason, then of course it is a concern, otherwise, not so much. The other side of that proverbial coin, are those that merely look at the system as a platform with which to achieve other goals; those that aren't going to micromanage the system, and appreciate the fact the system can provide what used to be a time consuming process of futzing around with packages.

There really isn't a right or wrong. I've done both, and have to say that I've wandered a bit from micromanage process myself.

The biggest improvement that I've made lately is to install a hybrid hard drive.

Hmmnn...so you made a mistake, and that is the result of the system as opposed to your input?

I have learned more by making the mistakes that put me in situations where I had to solve an issue, one that that rendered the system inoperable and had to be fixed. My best recommendation to someone wanting to learn is to put your Slackware install, or whatever OS you have, on a system where you'll make regular backups which allow you to restore the system to a previous state. (if the system is important, then that should probably be done anyhow) Then go crazy. Install whatever you want, compile whatever you want, make whatever changes you deem necessary. You'll break things, and will essentially be forced to deal with problems, restore a backup, or perform a clean install and figure out how to get back to where you were before the problem arose.

Actually, working with resource limited devices tends to force you to be aware of what you are installing and the consequences. I have an old Thinkpad 240 that I've installed Slackware on in the past that is an excellent machine. It doesn't have very much RAM, and there isn't very much processing power there, either, but it is a useful platform with which to learn. That system does present consequences for making mistakes. It only has an external CDROM, and can't boot from a USB drive. If I were to break it, I would need to pull the drive and install it in something else as there is no option of booting off a CD and doing emergency surgery. (I don't have the CDROM for it) There isn't an ethernet card on it, either, therefor network booting isn't an option.

My first experiences with Slackware were when I had a system that was severely resource limited. There are those that will recognize a flashing gdm login screen (if it got that far, don't remember now) right off the bat as more than likely meaning the /tmp directory is full. Lynx was a life saver then, too. Eventually you'll understand single user mode.

Eh, I'm babbling.

Personally, I would not sweat the package management thing too much. The knowledge gained through breaking things and then fixing them is more valuable than being able to brag on a forum about how clean your system is. People want to be considered part of an elite group I suppose, but when the same phrases get parroted over and over, it becomes somewhat comical. In reality, someone that is an experienced sysadmin could probably gut a Ubuntu system and come up with a system that is as efficient as whatever Slackware install you end up using. These various distros are only starting point. Their true power resides in the capacity of the person configuring it.

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