> My needs might be better served if there were an easy way to instruct dpkg
> to install the binaries on a different filesystem, like a zip disk. There
> is probably a way to do this easily, but I haven't figured it out. Have to
> do links by hand? THe config files, and so on, should go in the regulary
> places. Maybe more experience with system admin will suggest a way to do
> this.
>
> For example, on my tiny machine, any package of a megabyte would put me in a
> pinch, but I might want to use slrn or yorick intermittently.
Better yet, make the install always consult a local 'policies' file
for all locations instead of insisting that one standard fits all.
If a sensible mechanism could be worked out for this, the source
packages could eventually be made aware if it and 'configure' could
have a simple option to install unmodified packages in either the
local or normal destinations, and sharable components could go on
the appropriate shared drives. A reasonable first cut at this
might drop the files in user-specified places but throw symlinks
in the traditional locations to make existing packages work.
Also, it would be nice to merge the concepts of installing and
configuring packages. How about working out something with the
linuxconf guys to use their user interfaces and to be able to
automatically start the appropriate configuration run after installing
a package that needs it. Linuxconf isn't perfect but it is probably
the best attempt so far especially with interfaces that include
web browser forms (and they claim to be working on Java).
Les Mikesell
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
