pkgtools/slackpkg, slapt-get, sbopkg/sqg, sbotools, slackpkg+, slpkg, sboui, autoslackpkg, etc... what's good for what?
by dchmelik from LinuxQuestions.org on (#53JGB)
Pkgtools were probably on the old official Slackware CD I tried in the 1990s, and I used and programmed for Slackware more & more since (though had a short desktop break until recent drivers, still used Slackware for servers)... a bit newer than pkgtools are official slackpkg and unofficial slapt-get, sbopkg/sqg, sbotools, slackpkg+, slpkg, sboui, autoslackpkg, maybe even more than that... what's good for what?
Slackware does have dependency management: Patrick Volkerding makes sure each release has all dependencies if you do a full installation, and any new upgrades (mostly for security) will have dependencies at that time. You don't manage its dependencies on your own (except for example, if you install in a server you may not have much space, don't need X, but if it runs a site, you might need some X libraries, so you learn that advanced knowledge on your own.)
Apart from official package tools, first I mostly used sbopkg since '00s, then switched to sbotools (though sbopkg has sqg, which makes it just as powerful, and I saw one or two errors in sbotools sbopkg didn't make)... then I started using slackpkg+ with more repositories, sometimes even SlackOnly.com... then I tried slpkg, which if I recall correctly (IIRC) did some new things I liked, but couldn't figure out some things about it (a few years ago, kept saying it needed an update which wasn't in its repository) nor could figure out how to use sboui for multiple repositories (but seems it would be very nice to use)... now there's also autoslackpkg, which if I could figure out how to blacklist & greylist right, might also be powerful.
There were some difficult things to learn about each tool, but they saved a lot of time, even in the case that they manage dependencies (just not ones that won't cause the official Slackware to not boot, as far as I know)... for any/all of these, what are some things some do that you think they might do better than others? If you use most/all, would you use different ones for different things? Are there any other Slackware package tools you are aware of (ignoring stuff like dpkg or rpm, which I typically would never use... but past tools to build/install BSD Unix packages were interesting.)
If you build packages and submit them to SlackBuilds.org (or another public repository) of course also comment in relation to that and/or any package build tools (or ones named slack*, or that do similar things) if might be interesting...
If I recall correctly, slapt-get might've been the earliest unofficial, and in the '00s I almost/fully ruined my system with it, but if one knows about it, it might be useful, and Salix package management tools might be useful in some case (even graphical in the case you might administer a PC for users but they might want to view & install packages.) I mean, if a server has a password anyway, why not use a tool that might make updating some things easier (is that the case with Salix?) Currently I don't on my servers for some reason (something else the Salix fork did) but maybe it was easier for somoene elses's server (even if I think I might still not try that.)
Maybe because of what everyone used to say about slapt-get (and why they don't use it unless they understand it well) it's strangely the case that on Usenet and some of the original Internet Relay Chat (IRC) some people still don't even want to use the official slackpkg. Slackpkg never caused a problem for me, but it was once the case something unexpected happened with slackpkg+ that I had to reinstall slackpkg (i.e., maybe even boot install .ISO to rescue, find & reinstall slackpkg with a special argument/flag/switch to mean in /mnt rather than /!)
Of course the sbo* tools, slpkg, etc., can also do such things: if you use current, they might overwrite system packages with older versions for stable, from before when those packages were brought in (unless you can select 'clear installed,' like in sbopkg; unsure about sbotools or others.)
So in summary, be extremely careful with any unofficial tool (or quasi-official ones, as one repository is run by Slacksware team members, so I consider the repository/tool quasi-official, but most the packages unofficial) because unexpected/error things can happen... if you learn a tool and get used to it, that becomes less likely...
Personally I like slackpkg for official system updates & (carefully) slackpkg+ (for prebuilt repositories,) sbopkg if I want to read through the unofficial package lists (but sbopkg and the Slackware installer need to expand the boxes to more rows & columns for modern monitors, as a friend of mine explained is possible with GNU Dialog,) but mostly sbotools to install those (or sbopkg if it didn't work)... sometimes I might've used slpkg if I was trying repositories not in slackpkg+ yet, or just to learn different tools... still want to learn sboui and autoslackpkg (every night I already get update lists with cron and almost every day do updates sort of likeautoslackpkg does, so see no reason to keep typing it all out...)
Slackware does have dependency management: Patrick Volkerding makes sure each release has all dependencies if you do a full installation, and any new upgrades (mostly for security) will have dependencies at that time. You don't manage its dependencies on your own (except for example, if you install in a server you may not have much space, don't need X, but if it runs a site, you might need some X libraries, so you learn that advanced knowledge on your own.)
Apart from official package tools, first I mostly used sbopkg since '00s, then switched to sbotools (though sbopkg has sqg, which makes it just as powerful, and I saw one or two errors in sbotools sbopkg didn't make)... then I started using slackpkg+ with more repositories, sometimes even SlackOnly.com... then I tried slpkg, which if I recall correctly (IIRC) did some new things I liked, but couldn't figure out some things about it (a few years ago, kept saying it needed an update which wasn't in its repository) nor could figure out how to use sboui for multiple repositories (but seems it would be very nice to use)... now there's also autoslackpkg, which if I could figure out how to blacklist & greylist right, might also be powerful.
There were some difficult things to learn about each tool, but they saved a lot of time, even in the case that they manage dependencies (just not ones that won't cause the official Slackware to not boot, as far as I know)... for any/all of these, what are some things some do that you think they might do better than others? If you use most/all, would you use different ones for different things? Are there any other Slackware package tools you are aware of (ignoring stuff like dpkg or rpm, which I typically would never use... but past tools to build/install BSD Unix packages were interesting.)
If you build packages and submit them to SlackBuilds.org (or another public repository) of course also comment in relation to that and/or any package build tools (or ones named slack*, or that do similar things) if might be interesting...
If I recall correctly, slapt-get might've been the earliest unofficial, and in the '00s I almost/fully ruined my system with it, but if one knows about it, it might be useful, and Salix package management tools might be useful in some case (even graphical in the case you might administer a PC for users but they might want to view & install packages.) I mean, if a server has a password anyway, why not use a tool that might make updating some things easier (is that the case with Salix?) Currently I don't on my servers for some reason (something else the Salix fork did) but maybe it was easier for somoene elses's server (even if I think I might still not try that.)
Maybe because of what everyone used to say about slapt-get (and why they don't use it unless they understand it well) it's strangely the case that on Usenet and some of the original Internet Relay Chat (IRC) some people still don't even want to use the official slackpkg. Slackpkg never caused a problem for me, but it was once the case something unexpected happened with slackpkg+ that I had to reinstall slackpkg (i.e., maybe even boot install .ISO to rescue, find & reinstall slackpkg with a special argument/flag/switch to mean in /mnt rather than /!)
Of course the sbo* tools, slpkg, etc., can also do such things: if you use current, they might overwrite system packages with older versions for stable, from before when those packages were brought in (unless you can select 'clear installed,' like in sbopkg; unsure about sbotools or others.)
So in summary, be extremely careful with any unofficial tool (or quasi-official ones, as one repository is run by Slacksware team members, so I consider the repository/tool quasi-official, but most the packages unofficial) because unexpected/error things can happen... if you learn a tool and get used to it, that becomes less likely...
Personally I like slackpkg for official system updates & (carefully) slackpkg+ (for prebuilt repositories,) sbopkg if I want to read through the unofficial package lists (but sbopkg and the Slackware installer need to expand the boxes to more rows & columns for modern monitors, as a friend of mine explained is possible with GNU Dialog,) but mostly sbotools to install those (or sbopkg if it didn't work)... sometimes I might've used slpkg if I was trying repositories not in slackpkg+ yet, or just to learn different tools... still want to learn sboui and autoslackpkg (every night I already get update lists with cron and almost every day do updates sort of likeautoslackpkg does, so see no reason to keep typing it all out...)