Clarence Verge wrote:
>
> Having had to de-install Arachne for Linux several
> times, I can state that the Linux method of putting
> all veggies in the veggie bin sucks !
As a long-time DOS user, I like installing each application
in its own directory. This compartmentalization keeps
things tidy and makes it really easy to delete/upgrade.
However, Linux is more complicated than DOS and requires
a different kind of organization. For example, Linux
programs share libraries (which, naturally, live in the
/lib directory). It would be extremely wasteful of space
if every program had to include all of these functions in
its own directory. Similarly, it would be wasteful of
space if every user on a multi-user Linux system had their
own version of every application. Instead, Linux installs
just one copy of the application and uses global and
personal configuration files (each in the appropriate
directory).
> To de-install ANYTHING you have to manually search
> through all directories looking for something that
> _MIGHT_ belong to the program you are trying to remove.
All of the mainstream distros include installation/
de-installation routines that will do this for you.
Whether they can handle the Arachne installation is
a different question. Someday (soon?) Michael will
package Arachne as an rpm, and then your de-install
problem will be gone.
> This is as bad as Windows in ALL respects.
No it isn't. The Linux approach is very different,
but it does have an internal logic. On the surface
Linux appears to be MUCH messier than DOS, but it's
just different.
> Maybe there is an install log somewhere
The Slackware package manager uses /var/log/packages.
Other distros are probably similar.
> that would help, but unless there is a program that
> can USE such a log, it's just decoration.
If you are using a mainstream distro, you will
have such a program. However, Arachne will need
to be packaged in a compatible way.
Cheers,
Steven
____________________________________________________
Linux for old PCs: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~ichi
