[GLLUG] RE: Ubuntu Packages -- WAS: Digital Video Cameras & Linux

Nathan Hartley nathan at ilothlorien.com
Fri Jan 18 17:02:29 EST 2008


> Is there some way to use another PC (e.g. the one at a relative's house
with 
DSL) to just download an Ubuntu package (i.e. without installing) and then 
transfer that to the Ubuntu PC for installation?

Yes

Here is Ubuntu's version of the Debian link you mentioned:
http://packages.ubuntu.com/gutsy/devel/build-essential

You can download the package by selecting the appropriate architecture near
the bottom.

I was hoping this page would tell me for sure, but you are likely to find
that build-essential, or at least the missing package you need, is on the
Ubuntu CD. Try that apt-get command and see what happens, it may ask for the
CD rather than try to connect to the Internet.

I have only used Synaptic (the apt-get gui) to install stray packages and
here at work (a Microsoft wasteland) am unable to describe exactly how to do
it. Best I can remember there is an option under the first menu item, File
--> Install Package maybe. 

As for the command line way, best I can say is...

man apt-get


-----Original Message-----
From: Marr [mailto:marr at copper.net] 
Sent: Friday, January 18, 2008 4:04 PM
To: Nathan Hartley
Cc: linux-user at egr.msu.edu
Subject: Ubuntu Packages -- WAS: Digital Video Cameras & Linux

On Friday 18 January 2008 3:26pm, Nathan Hartley wrote:
> >Tried to compile dvgrab-3.1 (latest).
> >Ubuntu reports this on './configure' step:
> >   configure: error: C compiler cannot create executables
> > .... seems like Ubuntu 7.10 "out of the box" is not really ready
> > for any compilation...
>
> From http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Gutsy :
>
> ...if you get a message like "C compiler cannot create executables"
>
> sudo apt-get install build-essential

Nathan,

Many thanks for that information!

Sadly, I'm stuck with a dial-up connection -- no DSL or cable modem 
availability where I'm at. Even worse, I've been unable to consistently 
(especially at any sort of normal modem speeds) get the internal modem on 
that laptop with Ubuntu to work. It's quite maddening. I guess I should hook

up an external RS-232 modem and an RS-232/USB adapter and try that sometime 
to update my Ubuntu installation.

Is there some way to use another PC (e.g. the one at a relative's house with

DSL) to just download an Ubuntu package (i.e. without installing) and then 
transfer that to the Ubuntu PC for installation? I suppose I should be 
looking into 'apt-get', which I've never really used, despite many years of 
GNU/Linux use. I'm just not familiar with the 'apt' system and every 
reference to using it seems to always blithely assume that the machine on 
which you want to install has a broadband connection.

On a related issue/question, I can simply Google for a package to see how
big 
it is. For example:

   http://packages.debian.org/unstable/devel/build-essential

shows that this package is 6.8KB (i.e. modem-friendly!). But, just out of 
curiosity, is there any easy, generic way to see how big a package is 
using 'apt' (while connected to the Internet, obviously), i.e. before 
attempting to download/install over a modem connection? I'd RTFM, but
there's 
no 'M' to 'R' on my Slackware installation! ;^)

Regardless of my modem woes, thanks again for the useful tip/link! I'll 
probably slowly learn the "whys and what-nots of Ubuntu" (but a broadband 
connection would surely help!). :^)

Regards,
Bill



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