[olug] Debian Install

[Daniel Pfile]

I personally am a firm believer in the debian advanced install. Before you
call me a geek, let me explain.

When you install debian, you install a base system, a few meg of things to
get your system up, including a kernel, editor, shutils, etc, etc. After
that, all dselect does, is fire up a preselected list of packages if you
choose simple install. It also installs lots of things I don't want, so I
end up de-selecting things, and dealing with conflicts anyway. With
advanced install, I just hit + next to windowmaker, and I get told to
install X11, and this, and that, etc, etc, etc. I now have a working X
system. When you install, a setup runs (dpkg is now configuring packages).
It's the same thing you get when you run a basic install. Debian is HIGHLY
modularized. debs and sh/perl scripts are everything. The guy writing the
debian installer has no idea what the best way to configure X11 for TT
font support with windowmaker is. The packagers of those apps do, and they
write the setup scripts. You're not in Bob Young land anymore here,
welcome to the land of Bruce Perens.

I find using advanced lets me have a much cleaner system, that I'm more
aware of what's in it. YMMV tho...

Disclaimer 1) I'm a budding debian developer, I've packaged stuff, and
repackaged complex packages for my ppc system. I may be biased.

Disclaimer 2) Don't try this with debian unstable. Conflicts abound in
that branch. They're probobly not your fault. When you think you know enough
about debian to try unstable, give it a shot, it feels good to be on the
bleeding edge.

| Daniel Pfile        | I'm too cool for a signature |
| pfiled at marietta.edu |                              |

On Wed, 20 Dec 2000, Mike McNally wrote:

> On Wed 20 Dec 2000, Nathan Brown wrote:
>
> > Im' not sure what the simple install is ....
>
>
> If you select adv install you will be dumped straight into the dselect
> menus and you immediately begin selecting stuff you don't need and creating
> dependancy problems that removes stuff you can't do without.  Unless of
> course you actually are an expert, which I am not.  If when beginning the
> install you selected the simple install it asks you to select a basic
> type of system you'll be running.  Such as network router, desktop dialup,
> graphics/sound desktop or something like that and then there is some
> adjustability of the packages to be included in the type install you
> choose.  After this type sys specific selection you are then ushered to
> the dselect individual package selection process.  That's what the simple
> install is.
>
>
>
> > What I have actually
> > accomplished is
>
> ...quite likely, what I discribed in the first sentence above.
>
> > to get a very very marginal Debian on my system ... no
> > man pages no help pages other things are missing.  Lots of other things
> > ..... I tried to get more but cannot get dselect or apt to go and
> > actually get on the debian site.  I would like to knwo the debian IP #
> > maybe i'm just not doin the DNS right .... I can ping Other IP #'s so i
> > know my system is at least partially working ...
>
>
> I'd reinstalled again, instead of trying to patch up a poorly executed
> install.  But I'm just a dummy, and rule #1 in the dummies hand book (I
> wrote the book, by the way) is never do anything the hardway.  Goodluck. :)
>
> --
>
> Mike McNally		mmcnally3 at prodigy.net
>
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