Sources are package repositories where you can find packages to install on your Mandrake Linux. It can be a local directory on your hard drive, a CD-ROM, or even a remote directory somewhere on a network - the Internet, for example. There is always a specially defined source: the one from which you installed your system. Now we will explore sources management.
Imagine you find a wonderful CD-ROM with plenty of packages, or a
directory on the web. This is clearly a new source of packages
and you
would like to use it with RpmDrake, wouldn't you? Then you
must define a new source by clicking on the Define
sources button.
In the new pop-up window, click on New to define a new source. You then see the following dialog:
In every case, you must give your source a name: this name will be used to identify the source later.
You can define several different source types, such as:
Removable. This is a generic name for sources like CD-ROM, ZIP, and so on. You must tell RpmDrake the appropriate device (i.e.: which drive) and it's mount point.
Local. If your computer directories contain packages, you can "register" them here. Just give the full, absolute path to the directory.
FTP or HTTP. These types are for remote package repositories. In both cases, you must give the full remote directory URL, beginning with ftp:// or http:// according to the type. Also, give the hdlist file path, which contains a compact description of what is available in regards with the previously given path. A typical example would be ../base/hdlist.cz. This means you can only use "Mandrake-compliant" remote repositories, where a hdlist is present. If unsure, ask the remote site's administrator. The only difference is that you must provide a user name and a password for FTP sources.
Security Updates. This describes remote repositories (like FTP and HTTP) where you can find package updates in regard to security issues. You should use a trusted mirror for that: the Update the list of mirrors button gives you a list of trusted mirrors, try to use one located as near you as possible. Note you may have to give a user name and a password, if the mirror uses the FTP protocol.
Cooker. These packages are for those who want to closely follow the evolution of the software: they are the very latest releases. So, be sure you know what you are doing! These packages are mostly of development type, therefore prone to unstablility. These repositories work similarly to the security updates ones.
From time to time, the packages contained in a source may change, especially if it is not a CD-ROM: some RPM files may be deleted or added. To keep the internal database synchronized with the actual state of your various sources, it is necessary to update them (the sources).
You can achieve this operation very easily by clicking on the
Reload lists button. But note that it can take a
rather long time: as each package is being checked to see if it needs to be
updated, and the dependencies are recalculated to reflect the changes.
Now suppose the content of a source has changed. Usually, it means some packages were added or changed: a package is changed when the "old" release is buggy or insecure, or simply because there is a new and better release available. It is possible that some old packages were installed on your system, due to a lack of available, updated packages.
So, after updating the source, you have the opportunity to update some packages installed on your system and to take advantage of various new releases: you can see them in the Installable list: they appear in a different color. Simply select and install them, and there no need to say that we strongly suggest you to do this...