I used slapt-get when I was just figuring out Slackware.
It was more like the apt-get that I was accustomed to w/RPM based distros.

But once I got comfortable with Slack I came to find slapt-get unneccesary.
I would rather do things myself and have more control over my system.

So yeah, slackpkg is just more in tune with how I like to manage Slackware.

There have been many discussions on the pros and cons of using a tool like slapt-get or swaret. One thread that investigated the subject to great detail and even lead to a new feature in slapt-get was this one:

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...l&pagenumber=5

Have fun!

gargamel

I wrote my own because I wasn't completely happy with any of the existing programs

I voted 3:

I use wget and *my* brain.


Cheers,
Tink

When I first tried slackware a few years ago, I used swaret and quickly borked my system due to the fact that I didn't really know what I was doing. I then used other distros for awhle and then came back to slackware for good. Now, I read the changelog and use slackpkg to grab whatever updates I want. For other packages, I compile from source and use checkinstall, or very rarely, I grab packages from linuxpackages.

I cannot understand why people say "use their brains" as though implying that those who use slapt-get and swaret don't use theirs.

Using one's brains is not the issue. Convenience is. Slapt-get is very convenient. So is swaret to many people. I dislike this sniggering attitude that Slackware core users who have to people who like automated package management tools...

I really can use my brains to install and upgrade using manual procedures, but it's just too much hassle. I can spend hours just searching for dependencies for larger applications when I could be more productive doing something I want to do. I do waste a lot of time searching and installing dependencies manually in Slackware even with an automated tool like slapt-get. For example for firestarter where I kept on installing dependencies one by one till it worked finally. It's not that issue of using brains, but how much time you have for such drudgery. For just one simple program I wasted almost half an hour just searching and installing dependencies. Imagine more complex programs.

Definitely I like to learn, but when tasks like installing and updating dependencies become repetitive and boring, that's not learning. That's drudgery. It cuts out my learning time for something really worthwhile... it's a nuisance to a lot of people as it is to me.

Think about it before you criticize Debian next time... Debian has been around for almost as long as Slackware and it is there for a reason. It is popular for a reason.

I'd rather spend my time doing my work rather than doing the work of the operating system: namely updating and installing dependencies.

Takes all kinds to fill the freeway, including road kill.

Your post sounds like the average car driver. i.e. I would rather drive and not worry about the maintenance. If you find a car that changes its own oil, then you will probably stop seeing the comments about lack of brains for those that do not understand maintenance on machine of any kind.

Ever read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance?

I agree with Harishankar. I could download all my updates and install them manually, but why waste my time doing that when I can have swaret do it for me?

And not maintaining your car is more like not updating your system at all. Of course, you can change your car fluids yourself. It's not hard. That doesn't mean you still shouldn't take your lease car in for its 50,000-mile checkup and tuning - not everyone's a professional mechanic, and you can tell them about any problems you're having with your car and they'll fix it. And if there's any recalls on any parts that you don't know about, they'll replace it.

Same with computer updates - there's probably thousands of programs on my computer. I don't search the Web every day looking for bugfixes for EVERY SINGLE PROGRAM - or package, for that matter. How do I even know which ones need updating, anyway? Read through the website for every single program? That'd take forever. Plus, if I really wanted to scan through and only update certain programs, I could still use swaret to do that and not have to download each one individually. And if I'm going to take the "quicker" route of just updating every single program whenever there's an update, then I'm wasting my time because I could use swaret to do that and not have to download each one individually.

Taking care of your car and being obsessive about it are two different things. It's good to know how to check your oil and fill up your washer fluid and engine coolant, but replacing faulty parts should generally be left to professionals, and, for the most part, what they replace it with should be just fine.

But as for Debian. . . I still don't understand what the hell's taking its stable releases so long. As I said before, right before trying Slack 10.1, I tried the latest Debian release and it loaded me up with KDE2. That's like 2-3 years old! Mandrake 8 was using KDE3! What's taking so long, Debian - why do you need so much testing?

I use swaret and slapt-get and use my brain to make sure it is not doing what I want it to do and add stuff to EXCLUDE if it is so that it is not going to do it the next time I run it.

now THAT's funny. sorry man, not meaning to poke fun directly but the passion on this topic is funny and your freudian slip gave me a chuckle.

Seems asking about the use of auto-update apps is like asking "vi or emacs?". :)

Ah yes, to each their own then. And about the post above, I think I got confused typing so many two letter words.

manually and slackpkg :) -it's in extras it must be good ;)