[TriLUG] Deb vs. RPM (was Icecast.conf and debian)

[Tanner Lovelace]

Haim Dimermanas wrote:


> Ease of use is a matter of taste.
> 
> IMHO, keep stable for servers and workstations. Use unstable at home. Also,
> don't always depend on a package. If you have a web server, install Apache
> from tarball. A DNS server, install bind from tarball. It's easier in the
> long run. The best thing is a custom deb repository but that's on the list
> :-)


How is it easier in the long run?  It's certainly easier to
forget exactly what files were installed with a particular
package.  It's certainly easier to forget what libraries it
depends upon (so you don't upgrade them out from underneath
something).  It's certainly easier to forget that something
depends on a package that you've installed by hand...
It is certainly easier to forget just how you tweaked a
particular package to get it to work with your setup...
It's is *most certainly not* easier to maintain a package
if you install it as a tarball.  Package management
systems were invented for a reason.  People's minds are
fallible.  They forget things.  These things are much
more easily remembered with a database (either rpm or dpkg).
In the long run, it will always be easier to maintain
a package if you use a package management system period full stop.

I generally find that those who claim otherwise don't really
understand or trust their package management system...

Like I said before, I have no experience with dpkg, but I do
have plenty of experience with RPM (I've been working with
it for about 5 years or so...).  It is always easier in
the long run (and very often, in the short run) to whip up
an rpm spec file for a package (assuming it doesn't come
with one) than to install it by hand.  An rpm spec
file is basically just a build script, an install script,
and a list of files (with some other info, like the name
and version of the package thrown in...).  You have to do
all of that by hand anyway, so why not put it into
a spec file.

This sort of reminds me of the arguments of why people
should comment code.  If you want any sort of chance
of remembering what a particular piece of code did
after putting it away for a long period of time (which
can sometimes mean just days..) you'd better comment it.
Also, if you want to remember all the attributes of
a package, you should use a package management system.

Tanner
-- 
Tanner Lovelace | lovelace at wayfarer.org | http://wtl.wayfarer.org/
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