Development Support

[woodsman]

Hi folks,

Suggestion:

Consider adding a one-click package option in gslapt to install a complete software developer's foundation.

The default full Slackware installation provides a full development foundation for any user. I always have liked that foundation. Often I have read where in other systems users must install developer packages after installing the basic desktop system. Makes sense for most people but inconvenient for those folks who want more than the basic desktop.

As Salix is likewise focused on desktop users, and is based upon a one-CD philosophy, there is little provided in the development area with the default Salix installation. That is fine, but a one-click package option that would download all development tools would be a nice gesture. That one-click package option would download all dependencies, basically installing a full developer foundation as would be found in a default full Slackware installation.

One of the first things I had to do with testing Salix in a virtual machine is install the kernel sources so I could install the guest addition software. Yes, anybody skilled sufficiently with using virtual machines will know this, but after installing the kernel sources I realized the lack of other developer tools too. Several tools of which I take for granted in a stock Slackware. I then recalled having tested some other system in a virtual machine and there was an option to download a complete developer's tool kit.

Providing that one-click option would do well to embrace the claim of full backwards compatibility with the stock Slackware. Download the complete package set from a Slackware mirror as that is where the tools are already located.

My apologies if you already have such a one-click package option.

[gapan]

I really don't understand what you mean by "developer's foundation".

[woodsman]

Any software tool used in software development, building packages, etc. Anything in the tool chain. For example, kernel sources, glibc, gcc, make, cmake, etc.

Salix is focused on desktop users. Yet Slackware is known for not providing a large central repository of packages. Therefore some Salix users might want to start building packages yet are unfamiliar with which foundational packages to install to support that activity. A regular Slackware user never thinks about that problem because all of the building requirement tools are pre-installed.

Using gslapt, currently an end-user would have to search the Slackware 13 repository to find these individual packages. Which packages to download? My idea is for a one-click package that is basically a pointer or wrapper to finding all of these additional tool chain packages and any dependency packages.

[gapan]

gcc and gcc-g++, make etc are already included in a standard salix installation. That covers about 95% of available software for linux. If someone is going to build a package, he would certainly know how to install gcc-gfortran if an error during compiling tells him that "gcc-gfortran not found".

[honas]

When using "slim" distributions for "older" laptops, I usually want the opposite, no development tools! I normally want to save disk space. I tried to remove samba (server software) and all development packages, but quickly found that dependencies really killed the the distribution. I consider this a problem. When trying out a slim "Desktop" distribution, I do not want development or server software installed as a default.

I vote for a menu entry to add-in development tools for that (95%) now included, but that they not be part of the standard install.

[thenktor]

I vote for a menu entry to add-in development tools for that (95%) now included, but that they not be part of the standard install.

Remove dev tools? No way!

PS: And you need samba to mount shares.