Install Software

When launching this tool you will have to wait a few seconds, while Rpmdrake searches the available packages database. Then you will be presented the Software Packages Installation interface.

Figure 7.2. The Software Packages Installation interface

The Software Packages Installation interface

The window is divided into four parts: the upper part offers you some possibilities to manipulate the list of packages you can install. You will find this list in the middle on the left. Next to it, on the right, you have an area where you can find a description of the currently selected package. In the bottom of the window you will find a status bar with four buttons and an option.

Selecting Packages to Install

Let us have a closer look at the interface as shown in Figure 7.2, “The Software Packages Installation interface”. A package named “frozen-bubble-1.0.0-6mdk” is selected in the tree-view and in the package description area you will see the required disk space, a short summary (Frozen Bubble arcade game) and a detailed description (Full-featured, colorful animated penguin eye candy...).

[Tip]Tip

You may get more information on the package by choosing the Maximum information radio button in the access-area. In addition you will see a list of the files provided by the package and the change log.

The status bar shows you the disk space required by the selection of packages as well as the current free space. Please note that due to dependencies, the size required by the selection of packages might be higher than the size required by the chosen package by itself.

[Note]Note

Rpmdrake will show you an alert box if you try to install more software than the free available disk space. Nevertheless you may proceed (you may, for example, be able to remove some no longer required files, such as programs downloaded from Internet in the past and which you do not use anymore, to allow the installation to continue).

Now you can begin the installation, by simply clicking on the Install button. A new window will appear, showing you a progress bar of how your installation is proceeding. If you prefer to leave without doing anything, you can just click on the Quit button.

While selecting applications to install, it may happen that you choose a package which requires dependencies (additional libraries or another tool) to work correctly. In this case Rpmdrake displays an information window allowing you to choose whether to accept the selected dependencies, or to Cancel the operation (Figure 7.3, “Rpmdrake — dependency alert box”).

Figure 7.3. Rpmdrake — dependency alert box

Rpmdrake — dependency alert box
[Tip]Tip

If you wish that additional packages are automatically selected without warning you, simply uncheck the Show automatically selected packages box in the main dialog.

Another possible scenario might be: you want to install a package which requires dependencies, and various packages are capable of providing that dependency. The list of alternatives is then presented (Figure 7.4, “Rpmdrake — package alternatives”). You may read the additional information presented by clicking the Info... button to help you choose the best alternative.

Figure 7.4. Rpmdrake — package alternatives

Rpmdrake — package alternatives

We will now take a closer look at the search and sort functions provided to ease your job as a system administrator:

Searching Packages

Sometimes you may know about some tool you saw somewhere or you heard of at a friends place, now you wonder how to find and install them on your system.

It is really easy: just type the name, (or part of the name), in the text area next to the Search button. Then choose, from the pull-down list, where you want to look for it (either in the package name, in the description provided with the package or in the names of the files stored in the packages). After clicking on the Search button, a new list will appear (Search results), showing you the results Rpmdrake found while scanning the packages databases.

Let us take a look on the different sort orders:

Mandrakelinux choices

This sort order will show the list of packages in the four groups you saw during the installation of Mandrakelinux. This is the easier sort order because it focuses on a selected part of the available packages, which are considered to be the most useful of the distribution.

All packages, alphabetical

Instead of a tree view, you will be presented with a flat list of all available packages you can install on your system.

All packages, by group

Here you will be shown the list of packages grouped by their functions (e.g. Games, System, Video, etc.).

All packages, by size

Here you get a list sorted by size (the biggest package at the top, the smallest at the bottom of the list).

All packages, by selection state

If you choose this presentation, you will end up with a flat list, in which all selected packages are shown first, the other available packages below them. To make it easier for you, those two parts are sorted alphabetically. This sort order is particularly useful just before the actual package installation, because it helps you to see the selection of packages to be installed.

All packages, by medium repository

Once again you will find the packages sorted alphabetically, but this time they are shown under the name of the data medium they belong to.

All packages, by update availability

In this mode, you might get two groups of packages: a list of packages which might be added to your machine, and a second list of the packages of which you have an older version already installed on your computer.

Updating Media

When installing your system, you have been using a certain number of media (most probably CDs), containing the packages. You may also have added remote media (Figure 7.6, “Rpmdrake — adding a Media”) for which packages available may evolve in time (It is notably the case for your Club media).

Rpmdrake does not update all media each time it is run because that would take too much time, most of all with remote media. However, you can ask for specific media to be updated thanks to the Update media button found at the bottom of the main interface. Simply check the media to be updated in the dialog that pops up and press the Update button. Possible new packages in that media will then be available for installation.

[Note]Note

Media update can also be performed through the section called “The Software Media Manager”.