What is the best place to go to for a how-to on installing packages and programs on Slackware? I need a real basic newbie intro version on installation to answer dumb questions like:


do you gunzip files first?
which directory should you be in?
when and how do you do use config - make?
when should I install from source?
what are dependencies?
where to get packages?
what to do when README is unclear?
how to use pkgtool?
what is slaptget and why would I want it?

http://www.slackbook.org/ for installpkg & pkgtool.
http://linuxpackages.net and http://www.slacky.it for packages.
http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/text/Software-Building-HOWTO for config & make.

bigwheel:
There are multiple questions there, so if I can pick and choose which to answer, others can pick up the rest perhaps.
Questions 1 - 3:
Although there will be a range of answers as to the best package manager to use, most (all?) of them will use the default pkgtool. I use and would recommend on the strength of my positive experience with it, the slackpkg tool (get it here: http://slackpkg.sourceforge.net/ ). Read the docs, but in essence, to install it first, as root type pkgtool at the terminal window and an ncurses menu will come up, looking very much like it did when you first installed the system (not surprisingly, because it is the same thing). If you have download slackpkg to your /home directory, just select the option on the menu that asks if you want to install from the current directory. It'll ask you if you want to install slackpkg which you do. Once it's finished it'll spit you back out to the command line. For your reference, and in answer to question 4 directly: if you have a file <package.name.tgz> you can use the default installer in the way described, and things will be just fine.

Now back to slackpkg, as root again, use your favourite editor (joe is mine) and enter joe /etc/slackpkg/mirrors and uncomment the mirror closest to yourself (and ensure that it is under the slackware 10.2 section), then as root still enter slackpkg update-all. This will generate a package list of what's installed and what's available for upgrade. Then whenever you want to, as root enter slackpkg upgrade-dist and your distro will be upgraded to the latest packages. I should mention though that just to be on the safe side, edit the slackpkg blacklist configuration file. As root, joe /etc/slackpkg/blacklist and ensure that all the following are uncommented (i.e. will stop packages of these sorts being downloaded and installed):
kernel-ide
kernel-modules
kernel-source
kernel-headers
aaa_elflibs

Let it rip and within an hour or so you'll have an updated system basically. At some point during this, you will be asked about configuration files. I always enter k to keep existing configuration files because, to the best of my knowledge, by and large config files don't change; it is the libraries that change. I stand to be corrected though.

Questions 4 and 6:
When do you install from source? When you can't find a slackware-specific package and for these, your best bet is either the slackware home page or http://www.linuxpackages.net Just pay attention to what you are doing and that you are downloading the packages that suit your architecture.
When you install from source, just untar the tarball. It is this easy: tar xzvf <newpackage.tar.gz> (note the suffix!!) and then cd into the directory <newpackage>. Usually there will be a README and usually a configure script. As normal user, enter ./configure + any parameters you might need (see the README or INSTALL files), and it'll do a whole bunch of sanity and library checks on your system. Once it reckons it can work with what you have, it'll return you to your prompt. Then, as user, enter make and wait. This is the second stage at which the installation can fall down, and if so, the makefile will stop and give you an error message. Usually, this is because of a missing library that is needed (aka a dependency). If so, you have to track down whatever file the new package is expecting, then delete the <newpackage> directory and re-untar (you can delete the configure.log file inside the directory if you don't want to delete the directory and re-untar), install the dependency file and redo the ./configure thing again. Once you are at the stage where the make instruction has returned you (without errors) to the command line, then just enter su -c "make install && make clean" <- exactly as shown and enter your root password. The system will chug along and install the programme.

Question 7:
What to do if the README is unclear? Come back here if that is ever the case with the specifics of what's not clear. There'll be plenty of help available, I'm sure.

Enjoy your GNU/Linux Slackware system




AND THIS IS MY 100th POST!!!

No, not for the packages anyway. Yes, I know they end in the outdated .tgz (tarball) suffix, but what can we do? They are basically tarballs, just specially packaged to go straight onto a slackware isntall.

Any directory if you want to use absolute paths to install the package. The directory with the package if you want an easy relative path.

Example:
Only when building from source.


When you can't find a Slackware package, or don't find one you trust enough. It is basically your choice when to build from source or when to use a package.

Dependencies are other packages/libraries/misc. that are necessary for your program that you want to run/compile.

The best place is from www.slackware.com -> packages, but there are others. (I don't know them or use them as my Slack box is a server I need to be basic and stable.)

If you believe in a diety call upon his powers, just kidding, but usually then you start by _trying_

Hopefully, that works. If not you are on your own with the specific program, or ask here. Remember though, google the program first. It might turn something up like a howto. Your new best friend: www.google.com/linux.

man pkgtool, nuff said.

It is a package manager similar to apt-get for Debian. I don't use it, but I do use swaret (pointed only at www.slackware.com) to do updates. Google it and you should have plenty of reviews/flame wars.

Regards,

Alunduil

EDIT: QUOTE tags didn't work first time around.

Thanks, this got me started on my way!

Does slackpkg upgrade the Slackware version, for example, will it take 10.2 to 11.0 (when it comes out)?

It should ... on the proviso that you comment those lines I suggested you uncomment in the */blacklist file. However - general health warning alert: I have never tried to upgrade major versions before using slackpkg. I was able to upgrade my distro from 10.0 to 10.1 on a laptop using slapt-get, but I have yet to try it using slackpkg.
In theory however, there should be no good reason why you wouldn't be able to ... but I suspect that most Slack users would recommend a fresh install because the pkgtool programme is not designed to provide continuous updates.

Pat gives instructions on how to upgrade in every release. From UPGRADE.TXT:
Pgktools includes upgradepkg, specifically designed to remove old packages and replace them with new ones. I would encourage people to upgrade their systems, not do a fresh install.

drumz wrote:
That's a fair comment. I am still not sure that I would entrust a full system upgrade including the aaa_base and aaa_elf libraries and kernel packages using tools that were, I understand (but write under correction) designed for application and lib packages to be upgraded. On that basis, I'd rather do a fresh install when it is generation upgrade rather than a version upgrade (i.e. from a 9.* to a 10.*, as opposed to a 10.0 to a 10.1).

The aaa* packages just give a sane initial environment. Once you have a system up and running you never need to upgrade those. So yes, there is some blacklisting and some reading you have to do, but I still say upgrading is easier and less time consuming. Also, if you haven't followed the put-everything-else-in-/usr/local rule, you've got a lot of other stuff to reinstall if you do a clean reinstall.

(I find myself giving this disclaimer quite often)
You are certainly free to do what you want with your system, I'm just defending my position and (hopefully) adding more knowledge to this thread for other people to stumble upon.

Wow it seems like everyone here uses swaret. I used it in the beginning and I had to reload 2x. Now I was really, really new, and probably/most-likely did something wrong, so I've been using slapt-get. But I guess I should give swaret a whirl again.

Old_Fogie wrote:
I had similar experiences with swaret, but put it down to my own incompetence. Now I use slackpkg and it can even absorb and tolerate my continuing incompetence. Gotta appreciate that in a tool!!!