It is done on a per package basis. 'apt-get install exim' will install all libraries that it depends on and uninstall all mta's that it conflicts with.
The .deb format is not just a package format it is a database of information about packages, namely version, dependencies, conflicts and recommends. Thus when you upgrade your system, dpkg/apt downloads all software selected and dependencies, then sets them up, if there is a conflict it uninstalls what is conflicting, then after everthing is installed and configure correctly, it deletes the downloaded packages so that your system is not loaded down with .deb files. There is nothing like it in existence, it is the superior package format. Forget about popularity for a moment and think about raw technical superiority. That is the debian format. You will love it when you try it. NatePuri Certified Law Student Debian GNU/Linux Monk McGeorge School of Law Sacramento, CA [EMAIL PROTECTED] On Mon, 26 Apr 1999, Thorsten Manegold wrote: > HI! > Could someone please enlighten me to the differences in functionality > between deb and rpm packages? I'm especially interested in > dependencies. Is this done on a per file basis, so that each package > has info, what files the program needs, or on a package(name) basis > (meaning the packages contains the names of other packages that it > requires). > Which behaves better during updates? > > TIA > Thorsten Manegold > > > -- > Unsubscribe? mail -s unsubscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] < /dev/null > > >
