[ale] Linux Distributions

[Dan Newcombe]

On Mon, 29 Sep 1997, Don Allison wrote:
> I've about sworn off RedHat (however, a lot of other software is starting
> to use RPM, like Allegro CL for instance, so I'm going to try it again
> one more time!).

I have sworn off red hat as well (for now).  I installed it once, and it
used pam - BLECH!
 
> Bottom line: can anyone talk about what a Debian install is like? :-)

I pretty much just use debian now, with the exception of my one Slackware
machine at home - it just serves some big hard drives, and it works, so
why mess with it?

The installation isn't that bad - you make a boot, driver, and base disks.
Boot of the boot one, choose a lot of options (modules, etc...) and
install the base setup.  You then reboot onto a linux system, complete
with PPP is you want to do this over a modem :(

Everything is pretty good up to there.  Then it goes downhill.  The
problem is not the packaging system.  dpkg is a GREAT packaging system.
With the alien program, you can even install red hat packages.

The problem is dselect.  dselect lets you choose what packages you install
and informs you of dependencies/conflicts.  One slight problem - it
SUCKS!  Not only is a almost as big of a pain in the ass to use as info,
it doesn't always work correctly.  The keystrokes for doing somethings are
idiotic.  (That is the biggest problem with Unix - no one who writes
programs knows a thing about making a program people can use.  They are
two obsessed with seeing how many Cntrl sequences they can tie together
for a command)

Also, when it goes to install the packages, 
	a) it slowly (like it's doing something) lists each package even 
		those not to be installed.
	b) it installs in an order that makes you have to rerun it.  Say
		if package a needed package b, it may hit package a in
		the list first, which wouldn't install cause it needed
		package b.  

Other than the horid dselect, debian is a great system.

--
Dan Newcombe                                      newcombe at mordor.clayton.edu
"Maybe you were always beyond my reach and my heart was playing safe, But was
 that love in your eye I saw or the reflection of mine?"  --Marillion