Trying out Slackware

Trying out Slackware

[Zachary Kline]

Hiya,
    Since I don't technically have an actual computer running Linux to speak of, in some ways I have an advantage.  I'm able to try out new Linux distributions on the fly and as I become interested in them.  Today I tried out Slackware 11.0, and I really like it so far.  The only thing I have to get used to is the amount that comes preinstalled and the amount that isn't available.  There are far fewer packages in the Slackware repositories than in, say, the Gentoo Portage system or Debian's package databases.  But I don't know if this is a bad thing or not.
    That being said, could any of you Slackware veterans give me a tip or two?  What is the method for installing stuff that isn't in the Slackware package lists?  Do you compile from source, or make a Slackware package with makepkg?
Thanks,
Zack.
PS: I love BSD init.

Re: Trying out Slackware

[Littlefield, tyler]

Slackware is usually known for building everything from source. :)
That's what is usually done, then if you want, you can make packages for 
future.
HTH,
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Zachary Kline" <Z_kline@hotmail.com>
To: "Speakup is a screen review system for Linux." <speakup@braille.uwo.ca>
Sent: Sunday, June 24, 2007 7:43 PM
Subject: Trying out Slackware


> Hiya,
>    Since I don't technically have an actual computer running Linux to 
> speak of, in some ways I have an advantage.  I'm able to try out new Linux 
> distributions on the fly and as I become interested in them.  Today I 
> tried out Slackware 11.0, and I really like it so far.  The only thing I 
> have to get used to is the amount that comes preinstalled and the amount 
> that isn't available.  There are far fewer packages in the Slackware 
> repositories than in, say, the Gentoo Portage system or Debian's package 
> databases.  But I don't know if this is a bad thing or not.
>    That being said, could any of you Slackware veterans give me a tip or 
> two?  What is the method for installing stuff that isn't in the Slackware 
> package lists?  Do you compile from source, or make a Slackware package 
> with makepkg?
> Thanks,
> Zack.
> PS: I love BSD init.
> _______________________________________________
> Speakup mailing list
> Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
> http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup 

Re: Trying out Slackware

[Doug Sutherland]

Zach,

On slackware, forget packages once you have the system
installed. Grab the source for xyz software and read the 
install.txt or readme.txt. In most situations it's as simple as

./configure
make
make install

and some have
make test

That's if the source was set up to work with autoconf.
This is true of most software around these days, as for
the ones that don't use it, just read the install directions.
Usually all that is required is a few tweaks to makefules
to get it to build on your system.

I can see the convenience of apt and yum and all that,
but I can see the detriment too. Knowing how to build
everything from source is very valuable, and that's how
to get guaranteed compatibility, since you're using your
own runtime libraries.

Some things require more work to install on slackware,
but it doesn't bother me. As they say, engineers will 
generally keep engineering _forever_ unless at some 
time you tell them to stop :) Imagine if we could do 
this and that and this ...

  -- Doug

Re: Trying out Slackware

[Gaijin]

Zachary Kline wrote:
 > What is the method for installing stuff that isn't in the Slackware
> package lists?

     On the install DVD/CDs, you'll find a directory named "slackbook." 
  Not only does it teach you something about Slackware, but a little 
about Linux itself.  Use your web browser and load the index.html file. 
  It sounded like a pretty well written pamphlet on the system.  I'm 
used to books being a little larger. <grins>  I assume you'll have to 
visit Sourceforge for additional packages and install them into 
/usr/local.  How they missed dos2unix I don't know, but the 'tr' command 
should do for removing carriage returns.

         Michael

Re: Trying out Slackware

[Littlefield, tyler]

that's not a very hard program to write...
slackware requires some coding at times to.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gaijin" <gaijin@clearwire.net>
To: "Speakup is a screen review system for Linux." <speakup@braille.uwo.ca>
Sent: Sunday, June 24, 2007 8:54 PM
Subject: Re: Trying out Slackware


> Zachary Kline wrote:
> > What is the method for installing stuff that isn't in the Slackware
>> package lists?
> 
>     On the install DVD/CDs, you'll find a directory named "slackbook." 
>  Not only does it teach you something about Slackware, but a little 
> about Linux itself.  Use your web browser and load the index.html file. 
>  It sounded like a pretty well written pamphlet on the system.  I'm 
> used to books being a little larger. <grins>  I assume you'll have to 
> visit Sourceforge for additional packages and install them into 
> /usr/local.  How they missed dos2unix I don't know, but the 'tr' command 
> should do for removing carriage returns.
> 
>         Michael
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Speakup mailing list
> Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
> http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup

Re: Trying out Slackware

[Ralph W. Reid]

Slackware does have fewer 'pre-installed' packages than some other
distributions, but for some of us, just about everything actually
needed is there.  On the rare occasion when I have decided to add
something to my system, I have compiled the new program from the
original source.  At the moment, the only program I recall installing
this way was mplayer.  Everything else I needed seems to have already
been included--I just needed to write an occasional script or small C
or Ada program to use what was already available on the system.  I did
compile some adventure games from source some time ago, but whether I
'needed' to add those to the system is somewhat debatable ;) .  Your
requirements may differ from mine--reviewing the distributions to find
out which one seems to fulfill most of your needs out of the box is a
good idea.  Don't forget to look through the 'extras' directory in
your favorite Slackware distribution--you might find a package already
set up there to handle your requirements.

As for making packages in Slackware, you can do this if you like so
that your packages can be installed, updated, or removed with the
standard Slackware package tools.  You will still have to get the
source code and compile it to create a complete package to be
installed with installpkg, or perhaps you could just put your newly
compiled program in a place like /usr/local/bin without using any of
the package management tools.

HTH, and have a great day.

On Sun, Jun 24, 2007 at 07:43:24PM -0700, Zachary Kline wrote:
> Hiya,
>     Since I don't technically have an actual computer running Linux to speak of, in some ways I have an advantage.  I'm able to try out new Linux distributions on the fly and as I become interested in them.  Today I tried out Slackware 11.0, and I really like it so far.  The only thing I have to get used to is the amount that comes preinstalled and the amount that isn't available.  There are far fewer packages in the Slackware repositories than in, say, the Gentoo Portage system or Debian's package databases.  But I don't know if this is a bad thing or not.
>     That being said, could any of you Slackware veterans give me a tip or two?  What is the method for installing stuff that isn't in the Slackware package lists?  Do you compile from source, or make a Slackware package with makepkg?
> Thanks,
> Zack.
> PS: I love BSD init.

-- 
Ralph.  N6BNO.  Wisdom comes from central processing, not from I/O.
rreid@sunset.net  http://personalweb.sunset.net/~rreid
...passing through The City of Internet at the speed of light...
CIRCLE AREA = _pi * r ^ 2

Re: Trying out Slackware

[Adam Myrow]

On Mon, 25 Jun 2007, Gaijin wrote:

> How they missed dos2unix I don't know, but the 'tr' command should do 
> for removing carriage returns.

Slackware has two similar commands.  They are called "fromdos" and 
"todos."  They take input from stdin and write to stdout, so you would do 
something like "fromdos < dos.txt > unix.txt" to convert a file from DOS 
format to Unix format.

Re: Trying out Slackware

[Gaijin]

Adam Myrow wrote:
> Slackware has two similar commands.  They are called "fromdos" and 
> "todos."

     Thanks!  I'm not putting Linux online until I have a decent 
iptables firewall up and running.  I already have the script, only it's 
copied from a Firefox session in Windows.  Wonder if I should download 
the other, or just create sym-links.  Decisions, decisions.  Do you know 
of a similar stdin/out filter akin to htm2txt?  Was thinking of having 
procmail pass everything through that prior to delivery, killing off any 
questionable java code.  Hell.  Might as well just pass anything with 
java in it to /dev/nul. <grins>  I figure anyone wanting to take control 
of my system that badly isn't exactly the friendly type.

         Michael

Re: Trying out Slackware

[ace]

I just downloaded txt2 the other day which has utilities txt2dos, txt2unix, 
and txt2mac...Search Google for it.
Worked well for fixing a conf file that I recieved in Windows via email.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gaijin" <gaijin@clearwire.net>
To: "Speakup is a screen review system for Linux." <speakup@braille.uwo.ca>
Sent: Monday, June 25, 2007 9:57 PM
Subject: Re: Trying out Slackware


> Adam Myrow wrote:
>> Slackware has two similar commands.  They are called "fromdos" and
>> "todos."
>
>     Thanks!  I'm not putting Linux online until I have a decent
> iptables firewall up and running.  I already have the script, only it's
> copied from a Firefox session in Windows.  Wonder if I should download
> the other, or just create sym-links.  Decisions, decisions.  Do you know
> of a similar stdin/out filter akin to htm2txt?  Was thinking of having
> procmail pass everything through that prior to delivery, killing off any
> questionable java code.  Hell.  Might as well just pass anything with
> java in it to /dev/nul. <grins>  I figure anyone wanting to take control
> of my system that badly isn't exactly the friendly type.
>
>         Michael
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Speakup mailing list
> Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
> http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
>
>
> __________ NOD32 2353 (20070625) Information __________
>
> This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system.
> http://www.eset.com
>
> 

RE: Trying out Slackware

[Deborah Norling]

This thread has morphed in to discussing ways to convert line endings. 

I think the most portable tool is awk. I just love awk.

In the below one-liners, bns is the Braille 'N speak, or Macintosh; both use
only CR and not LF at the ends of lines:

from Unix to bns
  awk '{ gsub("\r", "\n"); print $0;}' macfile.txt > unixfile.txt

from bns to unix
  awk '{ gsub("\r", "\n"); print $0;}' macfile.txt > unixfile.txt

unix to Windows
  awk '{ sub("\r$", ""); print }' winfile.txt > unixfile.txt

windows to unix
  awk 'sub("$", "\r")' unixfile.txt > winfile.txt

Works in Netbsd, freebsd, Windows, DOS, ultrix, even vms, provided you got
awk.

--Debee

Re: Trying out Slackware

[Steve Holmes]

I first use what packages Slackware has available and if I want
something Slack doesn't have available, then I compile from sources
and where possible, I use something like checkinstall to help in
building a slackware compatible package.  One thing I like about
packages - even the ones I build is I can compile something like
mplayer on my fast machine and then just drop in the package on my
slower laptop and just install it.  Another advantage to packages -
once built either by myself or from slackware distro, is it is much
easier to remove all components.  Some tarballs are complex enough
that it is nearly impossible to find all the pieces to be removed.
This is especially important when you want to upgrade.

On Mon, Jun 25, 2007 at 07:41:55AM -0700, Ralph W. Reid wrote:
> Slackware does have fewer 'pre-installed' packages than some other
> distributions, but for some of us, just about everything actually
> needed is there.  On the rare occasion when I have decided to add
> something to my system, I have compiled the new program from the
> original source.  At the moment, the only program I recall installing
> this way was mplayer.  Everything else I needed seems to have already
> been included--I just needed to write an occasional script or small C
> or Ada program to use what was already available on the system.  I did
> compile some adventure games from source some time ago, but whether I
> 'needed' to add those to the system is somewhat debatable ;) .  Your
> requirements may differ from mine--reviewing the distributions to find
> out which one seems to fulfill most of your needs out of the box is a
> good idea.  Don't forget to look through the 'extras' directory in
> your favorite Slackware distribution--you might find a package already
> set up there to handle your requirements.
> 
> As for making packages in Slackware, you can do this if you like so
> that your packages can be installed, updated, or removed with the
> standard Slackware package tools.  You will still have to get the
> source code and compile it to create a complete package to be
> installed with installpkg, or perhaps you could just put your newly
> compiled program in a place like /usr/local/bin without using any of
> the package management tools.
> 
> HTH, and have a great day.
> 
> On Sun, Jun 24, 2007 at 07:43:24PM -0700, Zachary Kline wrote:
> > Hiya,
> >     Since I don't technically have an actual computer running Linux to speak of, in some ways I have an advantage.  I'm able to try out new Linux distributions on the fly and as I become interested in them.  Today I tried out Slackware 11.0, and I really like it so far.  The only thing I have to get used to is the amount that comes preinstalled and the amount that isn't available.  There are far fewer packages in the Slackware repositories than in, say, the Gentoo Portage system or Debian's package databases.  But I don't know if this is a bad thing or not.
> >     That being said, could any of you Slackware veterans give me a tip or two?  What is the method for installing stuff that isn't in the Slackware package lists?  Do you compile from source, or make a Slackware package with makepkg?
> > Thanks,
> > Zack.
> > PS: I love BSD init.
> 
> -- 
> Ralph.  N6BNO.  Wisdom comes from central processing, not from I/O.
> rreid@sunset.net  http://personalweb.sunset.net/~rreid
> ...passing through The City of Internet at the speed of light...
> CIRCLE AREA = _pi * r ^ 2
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Speakup mailing list
> Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
> http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup

-- 
HolmesGrown Solutions
The best solutions for the best price!
http://holmesgrown.ld.net/

Re: Trying out Slackware

[ace]

make uninstall is your friend.....when it's available.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve Holmes" <steve@holmesgrown.com>
To: <speakup@braille.uwo.ca>
Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 5:03 PM
Subject: Re: Trying out Slackware


>I first use what packages Slackware has available and if I want
> something Slack doesn't have available, then I compile from sources
> and where possible, I use something like checkinstall to help in
> building a slackware compatible package.  One thing I like about
> packages - even the ones I build is I can compile something like
> mplayer on my fast machine and then just drop in the package on my
> slower laptop and just install it.  Another advantage to packages -
> once built either by myself or from slackware distro, is it is much
> easier to remove all components.  Some tarballs are complex enough
> that it is nearly impossible to find all the pieces to be removed.
> This is especially important when you want to upgrade.
>
> On Mon, Jun 25, 2007 at 07:41:55AM -0700, Ralph W. Reid wrote:
>> Slackware does have fewer 'pre-installed' packages than some other
>> distributions, but for some of us, just about everything actually
>> needed is there.  On the rare occasion when I have decided to add
>> something to my system, I have compiled the new program from the
>> original source.  At the moment, the only program I recall installing
>> this way was mplayer.  Everything else I needed seems to have already
>> been included--I just needed to write an occasional script or small C
>> or Ada program to use what was already available on the system.  I did
>> compile some adventure games from source some time ago, but whether I
>> 'needed' to add those to the system is somewhat debatable ;) .  Your
>> requirements may differ from mine--reviewing the distributions to find
>> out which one seems to fulfill most of your needs out of the box is a
>> good idea.  Don't forget to look through the 'extras' directory in
>> your favorite Slackware distribution--you might find a package already
>> set up there to handle your requirements.
>>
>> As for making packages in Slackware, you can do this if you like so
>> that your packages can be installed, updated, or removed with the
>> standard Slackware package tools.  You will still have to get the
>> source code and compile it to create a complete package to be
>> installed with installpkg, or perhaps you could just put your newly
>> compiled program in a place like /usr/local/bin without using any of
>> the package management tools.
>>
>> HTH, and have a great day.
>>
>> On Sun, Jun 24, 2007 at 07:43:24PM -0700, Zachary Kline wrote:
>> > Hiya,
>> >     Since I don't technically have an actual computer running Linux to 
>> > speak of, in some ways I have an advantage.  I'm able to try out new 
>> > Linux distributions on the fly and as I become interested in them. 
>> > Today I tried out Slackware 11.0, and I really like it so far.  The 
>> > only thing I have to get used to is the amount that comes preinstalled 
>> > and the amount that isn't available.  There are far fewer packages in 
>> > the Slackware repositories than in, say, the Gentoo Portage system or 
>> > Debian's package databases.  But I don't know if this is a bad thing or 
>> > not.
>> >     That being said, could any of you Slackware veterans give me a tip 
>> > or two?  What is the method for installing stuff that isn't in the 
>> > Slackware package lists?  Do you compile from source, or make a 
>> > Slackware package with makepkg?
>> > Thanks,
>> > Zack.
>> > PS: I love BSD init.
>>
>> -- 
>> Ralph.  N6BNO.  Wisdom comes from central processing, not from I/O.
>> rreid@sunset.net  http://personalweb.sunset.net/~rreid
>> ...passing through The City of Internet at the speed of light...
>> CIRCLE AREA = _pi * r ^ 2
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Speakup mailing list
>> Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
>> http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
>
> -- 
> HolmesGrown Solutions
> The best solutions for the best price!
> http://holmesgrown.ld.net/
>
> _______________________________________________
> Speakup mailing list
> Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
> http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
>
>
> __________ NOD32 2358 (20070627) Information __________
>
> This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system.
> http://www.eset.com
>
>