Jucato
June 7th, 2006, 03:57 AM
Browsing through the different front-end package managers available, I was wondering if there is or will be sort of complete package manager that would at least come close to combining the advantages of existing package managers.
Here's a review of some of the ones I've come across:
1. Aptitude
PROS:
- can install and remove metapackages, together with their dependencies
- DE agnostic
CONS
- CLI only (It has a GUI, but one using ASCII, a sort of text-style GUI).
- basically the same as apt-get, except for metapackage handling
2. Synaptic
PROS:
- History logs: you can see what you have installed through synaptic, without having to plow through the /var/logs
- Markings: marked changes can be saved, and later on edited to do the reverse: Mark packages for installation, save marked changes, and install. Later on, you can edit the file, change all "install" to "deinstall" or vice-versa, Read Markings into Synaptic and Apply. It will remove what it installed, and install what it removed.
- Categories: packages grouped according to type/use
CONS: - filter only filters package names, unlike Adept.
3. KPackage
PROS:
- Allows you to launch without asking for a password, if you only want to browse through. It will ask for the Admin password once you try to do something other than browse.
- Tree view at the side (not really sure how useful that is, though)
- Works with both RPM and DEB
CONS: -
It's a bit slow, especially in scanning and rebuilding the dependency tree.
4. Adept (version 2.0)
PROS:
- Fast filter search that allows you to filter through package names, descriptions, or both.
- Configureable toolbar
CONS:
- the UI is, IMHO, a mess. Only developers seem to love it. I think it scares the @#$* out of newbies.
- No confirmation dialog boxes, allowing room for accidentally removing half of your system.
- Their concept/use of tags is not very easy to understand.
- No utility to handle /var/cache/apt (similar to sudo apt-get clean).
So I guess, basically what I'm looking for is a pakacage manager that has these features:
1. Efficiently manage metapackages and dependencies (like Aptitude)
2. History/log of changes (like Synaptic)
3. can work with DEBs and RPMs (like KPackage)
4. Categories and/or Tags (like Synaptic/Adept)
5. Good filter searches: names and/or descriptions (like Adept)
6. Intrusive confirmation dialogs that can probably be enabled/disabled, depending on the user level (like everything except Adept)
Does anyone know if such an app exists or if there are plans to make one? The reason I'm interested in this is that package management and installing software is both a boon and a bane in Linux. While many claim that installing software has never been easier in Linux thanks to these package managers, it hasn't been that easy, especially for newcomers, especially when dependencies are involved. DPKG and RPM, by themselves, are faultless. But the front-ends to these need a bit more work I think.
Here's a review of some of the ones I've come across:
1. Aptitude
PROS:
- can install and remove metapackages, together with their dependencies
- DE agnostic
CONS
- CLI only (It has a GUI, but one using ASCII, a sort of text-style GUI).
- basically the same as apt-get, except for metapackage handling
2. Synaptic
PROS:
- History logs: you can see what you have installed through synaptic, without having to plow through the /var/logs
- Markings: marked changes can be saved, and later on edited to do the reverse: Mark packages for installation, save marked changes, and install. Later on, you can edit the file, change all "install" to "deinstall" or vice-versa, Read Markings into Synaptic and Apply. It will remove what it installed, and install what it removed.
- Categories: packages grouped according to type/use
CONS: - filter only filters package names, unlike Adept.
3. KPackage
PROS:
- Allows you to launch without asking for a password, if you only want to browse through. It will ask for the Admin password once you try to do something other than browse.
- Tree view at the side (not really sure how useful that is, though)
- Works with both RPM and DEB
CONS: -
It's a bit slow, especially in scanning and rebuilding the dependency tree.
4. Adept (version 2.0)
PROS:
- Fast filter search that allows you to filter through package names, descriptions, or both.
- Configureable toolbar
CONS:
- the UI is, IMHO, a mess. Only developers seem to love it. I think it scares the @#$* out of newbies.
- No confirmation dialog boxes, allowing room for accidentally removing half of your system.
- Their concept/use of tags is not very easy to understand.
- No utility to handle /var/cache/apt (similar to sudo apt-get clean).
So I guess, basically what I'm looking for is a pakacage manager that has these features:
1. Efficiently manage metapackages and dependencies (like Aptitude)
2. History/log of changes (like Synaptic)
3. can work with DEBs and RPMs (like KPackage)
4. Categories and/or Tags (like Synaptic/Adept)
5. Good filter searches: names and/or descriptions (like Adept)
6. Intrusive confirmation dialogs that can probably be enabled/disabled, depending on the user level (like everything except Adept)
Does anyone know if such an app exists or if there are plans to make one? The reason I'm interested in this is that package management and installing software is both a boon and a bane in Linux. While many claim that installing software has never been easier in Linux thanks to these package managers, it hasn't been that easy, especially for newcomers, especially when dependencies are involved. DPKG and RPM, by themselves, are faultless. But the front-ends to these need a bit more work I think.