Newbie's Questions !

elapointe · 2006-03-29 03:19:30

1) When you "pacman -R foo". Is the configuration file removed ? Is all files installed removed

2) There is a way to remova all package but BASE ? To reset an installation ?

3) There is a tool like etc-update.... why installing new software replace rc.conf rc.local inittab ?

4) What is the advantage of doing abs method for custom kernel compilling ? Why not only compile and move kernel to boot ??
Why use abs method if i dont redistribute my kernel to others...

elasticdog · 2006-03-29 03:35:13

I can handle the first three:

1.) <code>pacman -Rn foo</code> will remove the configuration files as well. A good hint for pacman related stuff is to do </code>-h</code> with whatever operation you want to learn about:

$ pacman -Rh
usage:  pacman {-R --remove} [options] <package>
options:
  -c, --cascade       remove packages and all packages that depend on them
  -d, --nodeps        skip dependency checks
  -k, --dbonly        only remove database entry, do not remove files
  -n, --nosave        remove configuration files as well
  -s, --recursive     remove dependencies also (that won't break packages)
      --config <path> set an alternate configuration file
      --noconfirm     do not ask for any confirmation
      --noprogressbar do not show a progress bar when downloading files
  -v, --verbose       be verbose
  -r, --root <path>   set an alternate installation root
  -b, --dbpath <path> set an alternate database location

2.) I would have to say no...not that I know of. Although there's not an automatic way, there's nothing stopping you from doing it by hand, removing all the packages that aren't part of base -- but it would probably be much faster to just grab an ISO of the install disc and start from scratch.

3.) There is a program in the AUR called <code>dotpac</code> that can help with this, but it doesn't do it for you automatically. Files like <code>rc.conf</code> are included in the <code>NoUpgrade</code> section of <code>/etc/pacman.conf</code> and thus when newer versions of those files come out, they will be called <code>rc.conf.pacnew</code> for example. The dotpac program helps track down those types of files, will show you a diff of them, and ask what you want to do...however, you still have to manually merge the files yourself if you've made configuration changes.

Dusty · 2006-03-29 04:24:19

elapointe wrote:

4) What is the advantage of doing abs method for custom kernel compilling ? Why not only compile and move kernel to boot ??
Why use abs method if i dont redistribute my kernel to others...

Some people prefer to do it directly from source, it doesn't matter, really. The abs method seems more automatic to me, in that I only have to run one command and select my kernel options rather than running each make command individually. It also allows you to automate adding patches and such. However, there is nothing wrong with doing it manually, its certainly not "better" to use abs.

Dusty

shadowhand · 2006-03-29 05:05:53

It's nice to be able to view the contents of the kernel at times as well without having to do a lot of finds, which you can do if it's a package.

Arch Linux

#1 2006-03-29 03:19:30

Newbie's Questions !

#2 2006-03-29 03:35:13

Re: Newbie's Questions !

#3 2006-03-29 04:24:19

Re: Newbie's Questions !

#4 2006-03-29 05:05:53

Re: Newbie's Questions !

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