Salix Forums

Gentlemen,

Just got my first install of Salix 14.0 going and all seems well. It was easier faster and less trouble than Mint. But the first thing I want to do is change my shell to zsh, and I can't find it. Tried sourcery and gslapt but nothing found. Surely it is available?

thenktor wrote:

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slapt-get -u
slapt-get -i zsh

Thanks thenktor, but I'm wondering why it's not visible in the repository. One of the first things I'll be wanting to do is to install the stuff I like. If you have a quick link to some doc on the subject that would be nice, otherwise I'm reading all the docs anyway and will no doubt read about this in due time. BTW docs read so far are well written.

It should be visible now. It was a fresh install, and probably you hadn't updated the package list. You need to do that for any packages to appear at all, and also regularly and before doing a global package upgrade. I think Gslapt has a way to do it too, but that's how you do it in console.

Depending on which edition, slapt-update-notifier (and its tray icon) should take care of everything automatically; but it may take a while before the demon first notices the package list isn't up to date.

The same applies to slapt-src/Sourcery, by the way - except there's no update notifier or tray icon:

mimosa wrote:It should be visible now. It was a fresh install, and probably you hadn't updated the package list. You need to do that for any packages to appear at all, and also regularly and before doing a global package upgrade. I think Gslapt has a way to do it too, but that's how you do it in console.

Depending on which edition, slapt-update-notifier (and its tray icon) should take care of everything automatically; but it may take a while before the demon first notices the package list isn't up to date.

The same applies to slapt-src/Sourcery, by the way - except there's no update notifier or tray icon:

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slapt-src -u
slapt-src --search somepackage
slapt-src -i somepackage  # may need to supply missing deps first; this is automatic with slapt-get, though

Yeah, I understand that with Salix/Slackware package management won't be as straightforward as with good ol' Synaptic, I'm prepared for a bit of a leaning curve. zsh is now visible in Gslapt. BTW Gslapt seems to be a bit rough around the edges. I can't scroll in any window with any keys, only the mouse, and it takes a couple of minutes to scroll from top to bottom which is a bit frustrating. And in the 'search' box, it seems not to do anything--I can't narrow down a search with, say "z*".

Update: Just tried navigation again. Hit 'Ctrl+Home' and it jumped to the top, and now, plain Home (and other keys) works even without the Ctrl attached! Go figger. All good.

Yes rayandrews, GSlapt might benefit from some performance tuning, particularly on older, slow hardware. So while its Synaptic look & feel is nice, I've been slowly migrating to the command line for some functions.

For instance, as mimosa alluded to, GSlapt has a prominent Update button. That works fine, though I've found that I prefer the more precise visual feedback from using slapt-get -u. Similarly, slapt-get --search avoids the somewhat awkward overhead of the GUI.

OTOH, GSlapt seems to have some additional features which I've yet to find in slapt-get. Am planning to check the source to see if GSlapt uses other command-line utilities, or if the GUI implements some unique features of its own. Perhaps I might find some ways to improve performance along the way.

rayandrews wrote:Yeah, I understand that with Salix/Slackware package management won't be as straightforward as with good ol' Synaptic

It actually is more straightforward than synaptic in any possible way.

rayandrews wrote:BTW Gslapt seems to be a bit rough around the edges. I can't scroll in any window with any keys, only the mouse, and it takes a couple of minutes to scroll from top to bottom which is a bit frustrating.

As with all GUI apps, in order to scroll a list, that list needs to be focused.

rayandrews wrote:And in the 'search' box, it seems not to do anything--I can't narrow down a search with, say "z*".

Try "^z" instead.

jayseye wrote:Yes rayandrews, GSlapt might benefit from some performance tuning, particularly on older, slow hardware. So while its Synaptic look & feel is nice, I've been slowly migrating to the command line for some functions.

For instance, as mimosa alluded to, GSlapt has a prominent Update button. That works fine, though I've found that I prefer the more precise visual feedback from using slapt-get -u. Similarly, slapt-get --search avoids the somewhat awkward overhead of the GUI.

OTOH, GSlapt seems to have some additional features which I've yet to find in slapt-get. Am planning to check the source to see if GSlapt uses other command-line utilities, or if the GUI implements some unique features of its own. Perhaps I might find some ways to improve performance along the way.

Yup, I bare in mind that GSlapt is a work in progress and that therefore it could one day surpass Synaptic and may already have done in some ways. I also prefer to do thing on the CLI when I know how. What I like about the Graphical installers is the ability to see a bunch of packages at the same time, and their descriptions if I want them.

[quote="gapan"

rayandrews wrote:BTW Gslapt seems to be a bit rough around the edges. I can't scroll in any window with any keys, only the mouse, and it takes a couple of minutes to scroll from top to bottom which is a bit frustrating.

As with all GUI apps, in order to scroll a list, that list needs to be focused.

Of course. But it didn't work at first, tho it's fine now.

rayandrews wrote:And in the 'search' box, it seems not to do anything--I can't narrow down a search with, say "z*".

Try "^z" instead.[/quote]

... same thing here, I reloaded the prog and it's all fine now. Maybe the thing unpacks with dirty spark plugs and just needs a run around the block to run right. Sorry, I shouldn't bug you guys with stuff that will probably sort itself out anyway.

rayandrews wrote:

gapan wrote: Try "^z" instead.

... same thing here

You also need to press the enter key on your keyboard.