[SATLUG] Re: Yum considered harmful for compiling your own software?

[Enrique Sanchez Vela]

--- Tom Weeks <tweeksjunk2 at theweeks.org> wrote:

> On Monday 05 November 2007 14:43:08 Henry Pugsley
> wrote:
> > On 11/5/07, Robert Pearson <e2eiod at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > > I've switched from openSUSE 10.2 to Ubuntu 7.10
> Gutsy.
> > > My question is "How comfortable are you using
> alien?".
> > > The basis for this question is my experience
> with mixing RPM
> > > repositories. A nightmare...
> > > Now we are talking mixing mixed RPM repositories
> with "deb" repositories?
> >
> > Oh heck no .. I don't think I have ever installed
> an alien'ed RPM on a
> > Debian system.  I was referring to using alien to
> convert an RPM into
> > a format that you can unpack without using RPM,
> like a TGZ file.

here is where I have some millage as I support a
buncha of AIX systems where the "cool & latest" hardly
ever comes prepackaged. 

I guess it is not much different than installing any
software from source rather than from the "official"
rpm or deb repositories, you could unpack it with
rpm2cpio, then unpack it again just to later on build
it from scratch, you'll be stuck to if for its life,
might break something else (usually happens with stuff
that includes lots of libraries), an update will break
it (same reason) or will not be able to upgrade it
because to upgrade it you'll need to re-haul the whole
OS unless you build them with statically linked
libraries which is a big no-no (don't know why, but
that is the way I feel).

regards,
enrique.

--------------------------------------
"What you have been obliged to discover
by yourself leaves a path in your mind
which you can use again when the need
arises."    --G. C. Lichtenberg

http://themathcircle.org/

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