On Tue, Feb 13, 2001 at 12:30:27AM -0600, Carl Wilhelm Soderstrom wrote: > > > 2) If you want to install from RPM, I would recommend using alien. It > > does a fairly clean job of things, and you can always check the .deb it > > generates before you install it. I believe there's also a way to tweak > > the control scripts before you actually build the package. > how well does it deal with apt-get upgrades? I would hope that by > using this method; the version I install wouldn't be overwritten by > something that apt grabbed (unless there indeed was a newer version on the > debian mirrors). Well, the safest way to keep packages from being over-written is to put packages on hold. This stops apt (or dselect) from trying to update the package. The easiest (non-dselect way - since lots of people dislike dselect) way to put packages on hold is to use dpkg --get-selections and dpkg --set-selections. First: dpkg --get-selections < TMP_FILE_WHATEVER Then edit TMP_FILE_WHATEVER with your favorite editor (vim, of course) and then change the status after the packeages you want to hold from 'install' to 'hold'. Finally: dpkg --set-selections > TMP_FILE_WHATEVER After that apt will not try to update those packages and apt-get will tell you that it is holding them back when you do apt-get upgrades. (If you like dselect, simply find the package name from the package list, and hit '=' or "H" to put a package on hold - there are probably similar command for the apt UI's.) -- Jim Crumley | crumley at fields.space.umn.edu | Work: 612 624-6804 or -0378 |