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Date: Wed, 16 Sep 1998 21:05:26 +0200
From: Marc Lehmann <pcg AT goof DOT com>
To: beastium-list AT Desk DOT nl
Subject: Re: RPM (was Re: libc-5.4.22?!?)
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In-Reply-To: <Pine.SOL.3.96.980916110105.25151A-100000@ursa.cus.cam.ac.uk>; from Dr H. T. Leung on Wed, Sep 16, 1998 at 11:18:11AM +0100
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On Wed, Sep 16, 1998 at 11:18:11AM +0100, Dr H. T. Leung wrote:
> Oh, I have definitely used the rpm system. I d/loaded it from RedHat and
> installed it (of course I did not have a RedHat dist in the first place).
> But nobody ever told me the one important fact:

I can't resist an add one more thing:

- the last time I tried (granted, a year ago), I only found
  srpms with the rpm software. No .tgz, or at least it was well hidden.
- The srpms I extracted my first (and last) rpm insisted on a pre-installed
  rpm.config (or whatever), and nowhere was documented what should be in it.

This has made many people (not only me) mad, and gave rpm a very bad start,
although the idea is very good. Obviously, rpm is nonstandard and can't be
manipulated by standard unix tools (cpio, tar..), whereas standard unix
packages can (because they are cpio'd cpios ;)

While rpm is one of the best management system around (when it works),
anybody claiming it has no design bugs is ignoring reality ;)

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      ---==---(_)__  __ ____  __       Marc Lehmann       +--
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    The choice of a GNU generation                        |
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