On Tue, 31 Jul 2001 14:07, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> I would like to get a few things straight. RPM and Debian packages...how
> do they differ from .tar.gz files? Obviously, they are easier to install
> and update. Are they more highly compressed also? One of the big benefits
> of these also, is that the programmers decide for you where the program is
> to reside. How's that sound?
Tarball (.tar.gz) files usually contain source code which you can then
extract and compile. Packages, like RPMs and DEBs, come in two flavours. The
first contains source code, and are basically tarballs with an added file
saying _how_ the code should be compiled. The second contains binary
(pre-compiled) code, with an added file saying where the files go. The added
file also adds its data to the package manager database, so that the package
may be able to be removed cleanly later. The file also lists package
dependencies, and tries to check that the dependencies have been met before
installing the pacakge.
> And about the Debian thing- I'm looking for a program called "Alien" that's
> supposed to convert Debian packages to RPMs. I only ran across one site
> for it, and the link to the Alien program was gone. Any of you have it,
> available to send to me?
Look for it at http://rpmfind.net.
> Thanks,
>
> Dan
--
Sridhar Dhanapalan.
"There are two major products that come from Berkeley:
LSD and UNIX. We don't believe this to be a coincidence."
-- Jeremy S. Anderson
