Re: [PLUG] new @ debian/apt maintenance

[Art Alexion <art.alexion@verizon.net>]

Stephen Gran wrote:

> On Thu, Dec 02, 2004 at 10:54:22PM -0500, Art Alexion said:
>  
>
> > Am starting to use and like Debian via Ubuntu.  As OOo has a ton of bug 
> > fixes over the Ubuntu Warty standard 1.2, I wanted to upgrade, but there 
> > are no plans to "apt-ify" beyond 1.1.2 for the Warty release.  I've been 
> > warned about updating apt installed software via source or .bin 
> > scripts.  I know there are a number of Debian users on this list.  What 
> > are your thoughts.
> >
> > (With Red Hat I made extensive use of source RPMs and checkinstall to 
> > keep the RPM database current while freeing myself from the distro 
> > provided versions.  Is there a similar approach with Debian based systems?)
> >    
>
> The way I generally try a new version is to get the new source from the
> distributor, and 'apt-get source' the old version.  It may just be
> possible to apply the debian patch (diff.gz) to the new version, edit
> debian/changelog to set the correct new version, and debian/rules binary
> to build it.  A quick glance shows debian patches all over the place for
> this package, so it may not be trivial.
>  
Sound very non-trivial if it needs to be done often and a lot of places 
for potential errors.

> The easiest solution here, as Sean has pointed out, is probably just to
> remove the Ubuntu version, and install the new one in /usr/local.
> Presumably the install script allows you to set DESTDIR, although I have
> not checked.
>  
Yes, it does, and recommends /opt. 

However, it looks like Ubuntu puts most of it in /usr/lib/openoffice 
with gnome and other system hooks all over the place, presumably 
pointing to the /usr/lib location.  It looks like the program itself is 
divided into about 6 .deb entries: the program, the libraries, the 
I10n.en and the hyphenation.en packages.  The other installed .deb 
package is Ubuntu specific.  The description reads:

   *Debian specific parts of OpenOffice.org*
   This is part of the packaging of OpenOffice.org for Debian.

   This package contains extra files supplied by Debian that are not
   part of the
   upstream source:

    - man pages
    - README.Debian and TODO
    - Debian menu files
    - MIME types for mail handling
    - startup and configuration script (/usr/bin/openoffice)


Do you think it would be safe to remove all of the .deb packages except 
the foregoing, and then install to /usr/lib/openoffice from the script?

Or,

To satisfy dependencies, should I just remove the files manually so that 
apt thinks they are still there?

Or

Should I just install the update *over* the old version?

Or

Is this dangerous, and I should just forget it?

--

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Art Alexion
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