Re: package managers [was: FatELF patches...]

From: david
Date: Wed Nov 04 2009 - 17:28:49 EST


On Wed, 4 Nov 2009, Marcin Letyns wrote:

2009/11/4 Mikulas Patocka <mikulas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:

It interferred with my will to install the version of the software that I
want.

You did it in very idiotic way...

he's not alone in trying to do this

package managers are wonderful when they work and the package you need is in there. they are a pain to be worked around when the package you want isn't in the repository. if the package just isn't in there it's not a big deal to deal with it, the problem comes when you want a package that's different from one that _is_ in the repository.

how easy or hard it is to work around the package manager depends in large part on if you know the tricks for that particular package manager.

and no, a rolling update distro doesn't solve the problem. one issue is that trying to upgrade one package may trigger a pull of many others, but the bigger problem shows up when you need to compile a package with different options and really need to tell the package manager "hands off, I'll do this manually". They all have a way to do this, but most of the time it means learning enough about how packages work on that system to be able to create a dummy package to trick the package manager.

I think both sides here are overstating it.

package managers are neither the solution to all possible problems, nor are they the root of all evil.

David Lang


If you need new 3D driver because of better gaming performance ... if you
need new lame because it encodes mp3 better ... if you need new libsane
because it supports the new scanner that you have ... you are going to
face the same problems like me when I needed new binutils. But the big
problem is that persons needing these things usually don't have enough
skills to install the software on their own and then fight with the
package management system.

You use a rolling distro or add a proper repository with newer
packages. Nope, I never faced such problems, but I'm smart enough to
install software in a proper way. I consider package managers being
killer features you can only dream about being windows user.

On Windows, the user can just download the EXE, run it, click
next-next-next-finish and have it installed. There is no package
management that would try to overwrite what you have just installed.

On windows, user cannot upgrade entire system in such easy way (he
can't even install a thing in such easy way) as Linux distros let you
to do so. I recommend you to stop writing such bull. It was you, who
wanted to overwrite what you have just installed. Stop trolling.
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