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Thread ID: 28211 2002-12-13 08:53:00 Linux Installing Packages merlin-nz (275) Press F1
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105699 2002-12-13 08:53:00 Hi Linux people,

Mandrake 9.0 from the APC magazine.
There are three CDs, two for mandrake 9.0 ok, the first is the installer CD.
The second is full of packages, but blow me down how the hell do you read them.
I mean 'a personal and small business money- management software' is as:
gnucash-1.6.7-1mdk.i586.rpm and also:
gnucash-devel-1.6.7-1mdk.i586.rpm
Now which one does one install on ones computer.

For example how do you know what <gob-1.0.12-1mdk.i586.rpm> or
<ical-2.2-26mdk.i586.rpm> mean.
<gnuchess-5.04-2mdk.i586.rpm> is most probaly something to do with chess but the other two?

Graham: Got the mouse problem sorted, I had it as standard and should have been Generic PS2 Wheel Mouse. I can now scroll with the wheel instead of relying on the arrow keys.

BTW in Linux if you Shift+2 you get " and if you press shift+ " you get @ the oppersate to a Doze box, is this normal.

cheers merlin-nz in Linux ;-)
merlin-nz (275)
105700 2002-12-13 09:28:00 There is a format for the naming:

<name>-<version>.<arch>.rpm

Where arch is the system architecture (cpu type) the programme will run on. Common ones are i386, i586 (pentium or higher), noarch (anything), ppc (macintosh), and src.


The name is just the name of the programme, some of them are a bit cryptic (although "excel" doesn't scream spreadsheet if you've never heard of it).

Each package includes a description of what it is. Mandrake's "software manager" in the "mandrake control center", provides a nice interface for installing them, and allows you to see/search the descriptions.


re The keyboard: Which keyboard layout did you choose?
bmason (508)
105701 2002-12-14 01:33:00 I would not install a "devel" version. :D Unless I wanted to help debug and develop the package.

Do "dmesg | grep keyb" to see what keyboard layout is being loaded. You can change it with the GUI's "[K/C]ontrol cent[er|re]", I'm sure.

Another way (apart from rpmfinder, or "<packagename> linux" to google) to find out about .rpms is to use mc( the "Midnight Commander"). There's always a <package name>,lsm file which is the brief description which the installers display. (mc uses F3 to list a file, F10 to exit it). mc does lots of things. It's well worth installing and getting to know. (FTP , edit, ... set up applications to run from it ...)
Graham L (2)
105702 2002-12-14 03:10:00 Thanks Graham and Brett,

Had a crack at the rpm bit for installing packages, ok so far a couple of cliches (hic ups).

Will have a go at the other suggestions, Am getting there slowly, but a Linux box is quite diff from a Doze box.

Am enjoying it.

cheers merlin-nz in Linux ;-)
merlin-nz (275)
105703 2002-12-14 04:31:00 Regarding the (shift 2 = ") you didn't pick UK layout for the keyboard rather than US did you?
as i had a similar problem when i selected UK , once before
Nigel Thomson (629)
105704 2002-12-14 08:21:00 Yea Nigel I did as it happens, didn't think it would have made a lot of diff but it did
Problem now frixed, thanxs for the reponse one and all.
More problems sure to come.

cheers merlin-nz in Linux ;-)
merlin-nz (275)
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