Why does Automatix break systems?

[Hex_Mandos]

Installer scripts seem to be a touchy subject in the community. I used Automatix in my first install of Ubuntu, and had no problems. When I switched to Feisty, I did clean install (I had to replace XP with something else), and got everything working without any outside script.

However, I haven't found WHY outside scripts are so bad. Is it the extra repositories they add? Or is it the non-repository software they install? Or something else? Basically, I'd like to know how to avoid replicating their ill effects on my own.

[jacksaff]

A very large part of the problem is not that install scripts will break your system, but that they make it very hard to support and troubleshoot any problems you might have.
Debian is very robust and adding different repositories or adding software outside of the package manager shouldn't cause it any problems at all. But ubuntu can't be answerable for the quality of this stuff, or be expected to know about any bugs or compatiblity issues it brings.

[Hex_Mandos]

Well, it IS probably harder to troubleshoot, but that wouldn't justify the outrage I've seen here. Not that I'm out to defend Automatix, I just want to know whether I'm going to break my system by doing manually some things that Automatix does... automatically. Or, for example, suppose I made a much simpler shell script for friends new to Ubuntu that modifies their sources.list and downloads some software from unofficial repos. How could I do it so that it doesn't break during an upgrade?

[maniacmusician]

The problem is not with Automatix at all. The problem is that some packages are not the best quality, and they basically don't transition well during an upgrade. Most likely, these are from third party repos. So, you just have to be careful and make sure the packages you use are of decenft quality.

Automatix has improved considerably in this regard. Most of their packages work well. I haven't had any breakages recently at all. I use it just because it's easier. They have the "extra fonts" option, which is much more convenient than tracking down all those fonts and installing them yourself.

Err anyways. It all just depends on the packages and where you install them from.

[Hex_Mandos]

So that's the whole deal? I thought it'd be something more serious. However, what makes it different from, say, Getdeb?

[ThinkBuntu]

I've used Automatix for fonts and codecs (I still use it for codecs. Ubuntu's codec finder was spotty) and never experienced any problems...I just disabled the Automatix repos and uninstalled Automatix when I finished.

[compiledkernel]

So that's the whole deal? I thought it'd be something more serious. However, what makes it different from, say, Getdeb?

GetDeb only provides you with the nessecary packages for installation.

Automatix on certain levels configures, and creates configurations for you - ie. Its NTFS setup or Beryl Setup.

Some might consider this to be negative in manner.

[Hex_Mandos]

Thanks. That makes more sense. I know I can't have replicated that by myself.

[cyrusrayne]

I have yet to have any problems with Automatix. I haven't used it for very long, but given the amount of stuff I've installed with it (JRE, KDE extras, fonts, audio codecs) I would've been bound to find something by now I'd think.

[H.E. Pennypacker]

I have wanted to ask the same question, because lots of people try to make Automatix out to be Satan himself. What they never explain is exactly how Automatix causes problems. Since it is a script that downloads and installs software, I am not so sure what the problem is. You may say the problem is with the software that Automatix installs, but then Automatix is not really the problem, is it? The problem would have to be with the developer or the person who packaged the application.