[ale] installing suse packages

[Geoffrey]

John Wells wrote:
> I'm a suse newbie, and feeling like a fish out of water this morning.
> 
> 
> I ran a minimal install, but am now struggling to find common
> packages I need.  I installed apt-rpm (my lifesaver on Red Hat), but
> it seems to only support a very limited set of packages for Suse.

Forget the apt crap, use yast2.  You'll have the option to search for 
various criteria to determine which rpms you need to install.

> 
> For example, I'm a big slocate user, but I can't seem to find an
> slocate package under either the apt repository or an official ftp
> repository.

slocate apparently does not come with SuSE.  I've checked both 8.2 and 9.0.

> patch is another tool that doesn't seem to be installed by default
> under Suse minimal, yet again, can't find it under the apt repository
> or under the ftp dirs.

You will find it very easily with yast.  select the search option, type 
patch into the text box, then search.

> 
> Am I missing something here?  I only had the first Suse cd and it got
> me this far, but I need an easy way  of installing other software.
> Is there a way to cause yast2 to look to the web rather than via a cd
> when installing new software?

Yes, under yast, select the 'change source option.'  You'll be presented 
with the options of changing the source to: ftp, http, samba, nfs, cd, 
dvd, local directory.

> 
> If anyone can point me in the right direction, I'd really appreciate
> it!

----------------------> yast2

-- 
Until later, Geoffrey                     Registered Linux User #108567
Building secure systems inspite of Microsoft