SlackwareThis Forum is for the discussion of Slackware Linux.
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
I recently installed slackware-14 and it is working very well. However, on searching for applications in pkgs.org, I find that there are many more applications for slackware-13.37. The install dvd of 13.37 is also larger than that of slackware-14 (approx. 4.2 vs 2.4 gb). Will it be easier to use slackware-13.37 for the sake of availability of applications? Are there any major disadvantages of slackware-13.37 at this time?
I didn't really notice slackware 14 missing any apps when I upgraded from 13.37... The biggest thing to remember is slackbuilds.org only makes scripts for the latest release of slackware... so new software like libreoffice, etc... you need 14 unless you want to just hack the scripts yourself.
I did not notice a difference in package availability between 13.37 and 14.0. The slackbuilds.org site is excellent for packages as are Robby and Eric's sites (linked in my signature). Both 13.37 and 14.0 will be supported with security updates for a good while. Use the release that meets your needs. I am looking forward to the release of 14.1. Slackware-current is amazing right now.
The binary packages are probably less with version 14. The site http://pkgs.org/ finds following packages only in slackware-13.37 and not in slackware-14 :
alien
slapt-get
gslapt
abiword
libreoffice
Slackpkg on slackware-14 installation also does not find them on 'search' command.
All of them, I think, would be available in slackbuilds.org
Edit: slapt-get and gslapt are not available even on slackbuilds.org for slackware-14
The site http://pkgs.org/ finds following packages only in slackware-13.37 and not in slackware-14 :
alien
slapt-get
gslapt
abiword
libreoffice
That web site sucks. It is not related to or affiliated with Slackware. It should fix its database of Slackware packages. Perhaps http://slackfind.net/en/ will work better for you.
Quote:
Slackpkg on slackware-14 installation also does not find them on 'search' command.
All of them, I think, would be available in slackbuilds.org
Slackpkg tool works only for the official Slackware packages. It will not find packages in any of those other repositories. And slackbuilds.org does not host packages at all.
Quote:
Edit: slapt-get and gslapt are not available even on slackbuilds.org for slackware-14
Get the package from the developer himself: http://software.jaos.org/ ... you will not find sbopkg on slackbuilds.org either - get that one from de developer too: http://sbopkg.org/ . The slackbuilds.org site only offers build scripts, not packages.
@Alien Bob: Many thanks for your detailed explanation. I want to use Slackware-14 more but I want to install binary packages and I want to get dependencies to be resolved quickly. As you say, http://slackfind.net/en/ is better site to find them. Can I point slackpkg to this site? (Apologies if this is a stupid question). I want to use 'slackpkg search' command to find which packages have dependencies which I may need.
@Alien Bob: Many thanks for your detailed explanation. I want to use Slackware-14 more but I want to install binary packages and I want to get dependencies to be resolved quickly. As you say, http://slackfind.net/en/ is better site to find them. Can I point slackpkg to this site? (Apologies if this is a stupid question). I want to use 'slackpkg search' command to find which packages have dependencies which I may need.
Not that I want to drive you away, but you may want to give Salix a spin. This Slackware spin-off describes itself as "Slackware for the lazy Slacker" and probably offers all you need, even automagic dependency resolution.
Alternatively, you may want to try my own add-on project:
As you say, http://slackfind.net/en/ is better site to find them. Can I point slackpkg to this site? (Apologies if this is a stupid question). I want to use 'slackpkg search' command to find which packages have dependencies which I may need.
As others wrote, slackpkg works with the official Slackware repositories only. However, like kikinovak I'm using the slackpkg+ plugin, a great project: this is a non-invasive software which allows you to handle third-party repositories the slack way, using slackpkg (no dependency management, complete control). If you are not comfortable with the Slackware approach and are looking for automatic dependency resolution you might want to consider some derivative project, however I wouldn't give up too quickly: in fact, once you have figured out how to manage dependencies yourself (this is not that difficult) you'll appreciate the freedom this gives you, allowing to follow your own path when needed.
Regarding 'slackpkg search <pattern>', this will show you if matching packages are available and if they are installed. It will not show you dependencies (see 'man slackpkg').
I tried salixos but had 2 problems. It would occassionally hang, which is now unacceptable. Also, there was a problem in having write access to ntfs partitions.
Regarding 'slackpkg search <pattern>', I can get missing libraries using ldd command and then use 'slackpkg search lib-file-name' for packages having these files so that I can install those packages. I believe slackpkg searches for *FILES* in packages.
I am reading about other approaches mentioned above. I really wish there was an LXDE version of Slackware-14.
Regarding 'slackpkg search <pattern>', I can get missing libraries using ldd command and then use 'slackpkg search lib-file-name' for packages having these files so that I can install those packages. I believe slackpkg searches for *FILES* in packages.
Code:
slackpkg file-search filename
Last edited by Philip Lacroix; 06-27-2013 at 12:09 PM.
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.