[NTLUG:Discuss] Re: MPlayer installation -- get Fedora (yes, even for Red Hat Linux)

[Bryan J. Smith]

On Sun, 2004-10-10 at 19:59, mikep wrote:
> When I try to install MPlayer rpm I get a "dependecies need to be installed".
> Then there is a long list of dependecies.  My question is where do I locate
> these dependecies and how are they installed?  Using Redhat 9.

Welcome to Fedora.
You should be using Fedora for updates for Red Hat Linux 9 anyway.
Yes, Red Hat _is_ still kicking out updates.
They just don't offer support for them
(in actuality, Red Hat never offers support for RHL other than
installation anyway)


- The New Fedora Distribution Model ... First Time Setup ...

0)  Uninstall _any_ Ximian, FreshRPMS, etc... packages

These are _not_ official Fedora repositories and they _will_ cause
issues.  If you have trouble finding a package under Fedora, always
check DAG Wieers' site (see "E" far below).

1)  Grab APT for RHL9:
http://download.fedora.us/fedora/redhat/9/i386/RPMS.stable/apt-0.5.5cnc6-0.fdr.8.rh90.i386.rpm

2)  Now let's setup the repositories ... *RUN*:

 # apt-get mirror-select

This will tie into Fedora Extras (Fedora.US).
They maintain a tri-fecta of updates in *1* repository:  
 - Fedora Core (fka Red Hat Linux)
 - Fedora Extras (fka the [original] Fedora Project)
 - Fedora Legacy (updates after Red Hat EOLs)

Now because Red Hat took over the Fedora Project, packages with "legal
questions" have moved out of Fedora Extras and to a new project.  The
Livna.ORG archive is _the_ repository aligned with Fedora.

3)  So add the following to /etc/apt/sources.list:  

 rpm http://rpm.livna.org/ redhat/9/i386 stable
 rpm-src http://rpm.livna.org/ redhat/9/i386 stable

Or, alternatively, if you want more "bleeding edge" Livna.ORG packages
(testing, unstable):

 rpm http://rpm.livna.org/ redhat/9/i386 stable unstable testing
 rpm-src http://rpm.livna.org/ redhat/9/i386 stable unstable testing

[ NOTE:  Since Fedora Core 1 (CL3.2) is considered the ".2" release for
the RHL8/9/FC1/RHEL3 "series," Red Hat Linux 9 (CL3.1 <- note the ".1")
packages for Livna.ORG have been deprecated in favor of FC1. ]

4)  Now let's update all the package lists:  

 # apt-get update

Now you're ready to rock'n roll!

5)  If you want a GUI interface, grab synaptic:  

 # apt-get install synaptic


- Everyday Usage:  Grabbing New Packages

A)  Always start with an "update" of the package lists:

 # apt-get update

B)  You can start firing off apt-get commands, e.g.:

 # apt-get install mplayer libdvdcss xmms-mp3

Or you can use the Synaptic GUI interface to APT with a point'n click
updates:

 # synaptic &

C)  You can update _all_ packages installed with:  

 # apt-get upgrade

D)  If you want to do a full distro upgrade, you need to change your
/etc/apt/sources.list and /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mirror-select.list to
point to the distro (e.g., Fedora Core 1).

 # apt-get dist-upgrade

[ NOTE:  Get more advise before you do a "dist-upgrade."  E.g., RHL9 ->
FC1 via "dist-upgrade" works _perfect_ -- because you are going from
CL3.1 (RHL9) to CL3.2 (FC1) "revision" upgrade.  But FC1 -> FC2 is a
_full_ "version" upgrade from CL3.2 (FC1) to CL4.0 (FC2), and there are
a couple of gotchas (but easily fixed). ]

E)  Now if you have trouble locating a package, you can _temporarily_
add DAG Wieers' repository to /etc/apt/sources.list:  

 rpm http://apt.sw.be redhat/9/en/i386 dag

*BUT* _remove_it_ (and issue an "apt-get update") as soon as you have
the package.  I would recommend _against_ putting in your sources.list
all the time.


- Red Hat's current distribution strategy:  YUM and APT

Red Hat supports both APT and YUM, but YUM is clearly where they are
headed with their new Anaconda installer and utilities.  In fact, YUM
_replaces_ the old RHN access to Red Hat's own servers, and even RHEL
includes APT/YUM support in its UP2DATE.

But APT is still _well_supported_, as it was the original tool for the
Fedora Project (Fedora.US out of the U of Hawaii).  The
_massively_improved_ APT for Red Hat Linux over what Connectiva and
other 3rd party repositories did (like FreshRPMS.NET), hence Red Hat's
decision to work with them.

APT will not be going away soon.  And many prefer it over YUM.  Since
APT and YUM use the same "package back-end," RPM, you _can_ safely use
_both_ utilities.  Red Hat is hard at work at a GUI front-end for YUM
like Synaptic is for APT (might be the same tool, only adopted for
YUM?).


-- 
Bryan J. Smith                                  b.j.smith at ieee.org 
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