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#1 2002-11-28 02:36:38

jon
Member
Registered: 2002-11-28
Posts: 87

Arch Linux & PKG Formats

hi im new to linux but found arch linux and really like it only thing is it has too few packages in my oppion but.... LET IT BE KNOWN I H-A-T-E BLOAT i just like choice so is it possible to make a converter program to convert from one pkg style to arch's style. could you make arch understand slackware tgz packages by defult? Or Crux becuase they have lots of "unoffical" packages

just wondering

Keep up the great work....

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#2 2002-11-28 03:43:34

apeiro
Daddy
From: Victoria, BC, Canada
Registered: 2002-08-12
Posts: 771
Website

Re: Arch Linux & PKG Formats

Not a bad idea..  I'll add it to the post-0.4 wishlist.

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#3 2002-11-28 06:09:22

sarah31
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From: Middle of Canada
Registered: 2002-08-20
Posts: 2,975
Website

Re: Arch Linux & PKG Formats

just so everyone knows i am working hard to finally get a large number of packages uploaded to the unofficial tree. once those are done i will work on getting more of your requests built. i hope to have unofficial updated by next week sometime. please make me aware of new versions or bugs as soon as possible.


AKA uknowme

I am not your friend

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#4 2002-12-01 18:45:30

xirus
Member
Registered: 2002-12-01
Posts: 113

Re: Arch Linux & PKG Formats

or maybe a converter from gentoo packages...?

if you're able to create a decent converter in python or something, and then let some machine/cluster make packages of all these programs, you'd solve your (lack of) applications problem without too much effort...

btw post-0.4 wishlist -> grub as option in the installation!!!!
that, a decent logo :? and a reasonable ammount of programs (like opera, openoffice,...) and I'd be using AL as base system (I love it for it's progressive approach on many things, yet so conservative in it's bootmanager sad )

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#5 2002-12-02 07:17:28

sarah31
Member
From: Middle of Canada
Registered: 2002-08-20
Posts: 2,975
Website

Re: Arch Linux & PKG Formats

well i must be a low maintenance user but i find that all of the packages i need are already packaged or i did it myself. while the idea of having a converter for some package formats would be nice i hate that idea of absorbing the bugs along with it. having used and not been impressed with gentoo i am sorry to say that converting some of their builds does not play with me very well nor does the idea of debugging them afterwards. i don't like the idea really of leaching from other distros. i came from a leach distro that had developers that thought the were so great because they newbie-ized the debian install and have scripts that can recompile kernel and a hole pile of other apps that a more advance (or less lazy) user would not even use. i would hate for arch to become that. i am not saying that a converter is bad but having a converter as the means of significantly increasing the number of packages available is not the ideal means, imho. arch linux is very young as more users use it and more maintainers/developers "sign on" the number of packages will increase too. remember when gentoo was nine months old they did not have very many users nor packages.

grub vs lilo. i like both and i am finding that lilo is servicing my needs better right now as i have done frequent kernel tweaks and recompiles/installs and have given each bzImage a different name lilo is ideal for this. grub is great if you don't want to boot more than one kernel or you are booting more than one distro (or windows). when i came here from my last distro i was kinda sad that grub was not used but, honestly, i am now very glad that lilo is the bootloader.

as for "alot" more packages. there will be quite a few packges (170?) going into the unofficial tree in a few days. i will be working after that on making more and smoothing any bugs out. open office would be nice to offer but at this time i have not determined a way to package it so that it suits the desired way of installing and executing applications in arch linux. opera, hmm, personally i don't like it much any more but it is a packege that i have been considering but it will be a very difficult package to build because there is a very very long list of code to tweak in their binary installer to get it to be built into an arch package. it may not be that apparent but in the final results but opera is a very involved project and one that i regret to say is on the back burner for the time being.

i guess in essence i am saying be patient. let us build more packages (list all your suggestions and email me the list if you like). of course your are welcome to build packages too it is not all that difficult and submit them to arch's /incoming tree. this is a very welcome venture. very few distros allow their users to be of very simple and direct assistance in becoming a stronger distro. arch linux is my second job that i willing do for free because i can. i like helping and my computer is my life away from work and arch linux was the first distro that i have used that allowed me to greatly expand my skill and learning of linux. i cannot make the same claim of the previous distros i used (gentoo, libranet, debian, mandrake) it is also one heck of a nice community. imho the best.


AKA uknowme

I am not your friend

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#6 2002-12-02 14:38:02

ody
Member
From: Manchester, UK
Registered: 2002-08-12
Posts: 216
Website

Re: Arch Linux & PKG Formats

I did actualy create an rpm2pkg converter ages ago, only problem was it created a wierd effect on the system after installling the pacakge which could only be resolved by removing the package and reinstalling another true pacman pkg.. was wierd.. maybe Ill look at it again some day.

but u can check it out: http://netrux.com/pages/downloads/rpm2pkg

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