Libraries and dependencies (Re: [Techtalk] "I need to use Windows because ...")

[Poppy]

I'm using urpmi in Mandrake.... what I've found most of the time is that
when installing something I found online (as opposed to something from
my install cds or one of the online mirrors), I have to satisfy the
dependencies myself... it is more than happy to tell me I need
libfoo10.so, but can't find it on its own. I typically have to find
which package installed libfoo10.so and let it install that package
along with the program I was trying to install in the first place.

Which brings me to two points:
1) it would be nice if the web site providing the software put at least
enough documentation up to list the dependencies in a location not too
far from the download link. Some do, some don't.

2) It would also be nice to be able to get -just- the libraries I need,
and not a whole package. Which is part of my desire for more static
packages. It's all well and good that I can pick up program bar, but
then need libfoo10.so. Well, libfoo10.so happens to be included in
foo-10.1.rpm, so I download and install that, and now I've got a whole
lot of garbage that I didn't need just to satisfy this dependency. I'm
not adverse to compiling what I need, but will urpmi find it and/or how
deep do I have to look in google?

--Poppy

On Sun, 2002-08-11 at 21:50, Mary wrote:
> 
> There are a growing set of tools that automatically satisfy dependencies
> for you.
> 
> The most well known is Debian's apt-get tool. There is also Red Carpet
> for Ximian's programs I believe. There is urpmi for Mandrake, and the
> Control Center's Install Software section is a GUI equivalent.
> 
> I'm sure people can post others for their own distros. They all mean
> that as long as the program can find a package somewhere in locations it
> knows about (the defaults are generally good, but if you're outside the
> US, you'd be better changing them to local mirrors) it will download, or
> install from CD, packages to meet your dependencies automatically.
> 
> -Mary.
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Poppy,
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