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.
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 three buttons.
Let's have a closer look at the interface as shown in Figure 21.2. A package named “frozen-bubble-1.0.0-6mdk” is selected in the tree-view and in the package description area you will find the needed disk space (11835 KB), a short summary (Frozen Bubble arcade game) and a detailed description (Full-featured, colorful animated penguin eye candy...).
You can get more information on the package by choosing the radio button in the access-area. In addition you will see a list of the files provided by the package and the ChangeLog.
The status bar shows you, that you have selected 11 MB and you have enough free disk space left (1665 MB).
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 e.g. be able to remove enough unneeded files, let's say some “cooker”[18]-ISOs, you were burning last week, to do the installation anyway)
Now you can launch the installation, simply by clicking on the button. A new window will appear, to show you with a progress bar how much of your installation is already done. If you prefer leaving without doing anything, you just need to click on the button.
During the selection it may happen that you choose a package that needs some additional libraries or another tool to be installed to work correctly. In that case RpmDrake will present you an information box, giving you the ability to choose, if you accept to also select the dependencies, or if you forego your selection (Figure 21.3).
Another possible scenario might be: you want to install a package, and you are presented a list of alternatives providing the same feature needed by your chosen package (Figure 21.4). You may read the additional information presented when clicking the button to help you choose the best alternative.
We will now take a closer look at the search and sort functions provided to ease your job as system administrator:
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's really easy: just add the name in the text area next to the button. Then choose, 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). A new list will appear, giving you the search results, RpmDrake found while scanning the databases.
This sort order will present the list of packages in the four groups you have already seen during the installation of your Mandrake Linux. 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
Instead of a tree view, you will be presented with a flat list of all available packages you can install on your system.
Here you will be presented the packages grouped by their functions (e.g. Games, System, Video, etc.).
Here you will get a list sorted by size (the biggest package on top, the smallest on the end of the list).
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, when you have selected many packages because it helps seeing all the selected packages.
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.
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 with all packages where you have an older version already installed on your computer.
[18] “cooker” is the Mandrake Linux development distribution, used to improve the contents and create an even better new release.