2004.06_Linux Magazine Dvd.pdf

LINUX MAGAZINE

Linux Magazine DVD

D ebian GNU/Linux is about to

Using the Installer

The installer is designed

to take away the pain of

system installations.

Each modular component

will either perform its task

and move on to the next or

provide an error screen and a

chance to try alternative

actions. This means that in

the majority of cases, you

will not see the installer but

just a series of questions

when configuring your com-

puter system.

As Debian GNU/Linux is

designed for all levels of experience, you

may prefer the old style where you con-

trol each step. In this case you will need

to add the boot parameter

Figure 1: The Debian installer main menu screen.

go through a version change. The

current stable version has been

around for a long time and is about to

be superseded. “Sarge” is the code name

for the testing version and we expect

any day for it to be officially named

as the new stable version with the cur-

rent stable stream “Woody” being

retired.

One of the delays has been the pro-

ject’s decision to include the new

“Debian Installer”. The installer is in-

tended as a replacement for the aging

boot floppy system, that although has

provided sterling service, is now looking

somewhat aged. This new installer is

the path for future Debian distributions,

providing a more modular and easy

to use system. This system will also

allow greater extensibility for whatever

the future may bring. With this in mind

we have taken the latest Debian DVD

build made with the new jigdo (Jigsaw

Download) tool to give you the future

early.

apt-get install packagename

When first adding packages to your sys-

tem you can chose the simple

installation option which uses the

“Tasksel” program. For those who feel

more adventurous, you can the ad-

vanced package installation which will

use “dselect”.

DEBCONF_PRIORITY=medium

To cope with any screen device, the

installer display is character based rather

than using a temperamental graphical

user interface. Instead of selecting options

with a click of the mouse, you can use the

TA B or RIGHT ARROW keys to move for-

ward and the LEFT ARROW key or

SHIFT-TAB to move back. Selecting an

option is via the UP ARROW or the

DOWN ARROW, with the SPACEBAR used

to check any check boxes. The ENTER or

RETURN key activates the choice.

After you have installed the base sys-

tem, you will be asked to configure some

options such as your time zone and the

creation of the root and users’ passwords.

The system will now use the DVD

as its source for the other packages

that you want to install.

Debian is not like the familiar

RPM-based distributions. It

favors the .deb packaging

system which has strong

dependency tracking and

good cooperation between

packages and system integra-

tion. To install a package at

a later date, you just need

to run the following com-

mand:

Why run Debian?

Most people who chose Debian GNU/Linux

agree that the apt-get package system is far

superior to rivals, whether that is RPM,

urpmi, yum or apt4rpm. Beyond that lie

other more meaningful reasons. Debian

does not seek to be constantly releasing

new versions to increase sales. In fact,

Debian is run by volunteers who form a

community. The GPL is at the heart of the

Debian community and this granting of

freedom is the real reason why Debian users

are so passionate about their OS.

Debian also takes the issue of security very

strongly to heart. An example can be seen

each month by looking at how many secu-

rity notices Debian announces compared to

other distributions. This open form of infor-

mation ensures that you are in a position to

maintain the security of your computer at

all times.

The apparent slow change in versions also

ensures that the system has the stability

you require. This does not stop you from

running applications with some 12,000

packages available on the Debian mirrors

for a range of processor architectures.

Figure 2: The Debian installer detecting your hardware.

June 2004

www.linux-magazine.com

Linux Magazine DVD

LINUX MAGAZINE

Great software on the DVD

The Linux Magazine Debian GNU/Linux

DVD contains hundreds of applications

to cater for whatever task you want to

perform. For desktop environments and

window managers we have a large

choice from the popular KDE or GNOME

options to the more unusual Blackbox

and Sawfish.

If you want to try some office work on

your new Debian system, you can start

off with either OpenOffice 1.1.0, KOffice

or the GNOME office applications such

as Gnumerics and Abiword. Gnucash

will keep your money organized and for

the old school text only users there is

always Emacs or Vim to master.

The program development side is not

forgotten in the mass of applications

supplied on the DVD. GCC supplies a

host of language compilers, alongside

Perl and Python. KDevelop and Anjuta

provide fully Integrated development

environments.

You can run your own servers such as

the ever popular Apache web server and

Samba to share data and information

with any MS Windows computers you

have attached to a local network, as well

as increase your security with GnuPG

and the Shorewall firewall.

Of course, these days, a modern sys-

tem needs to be Internet ready and

aware. Debian GNU/Linux provides

numerous ways to browse and explore

the Web. These range from the ubiqui-

tous Mozilla and Nautilus to text only

applications such as Lynx and Links.

Knode or Pan can be used as newsgroup

Figure 3: Running KDE with XMMS, KNotes, Konqueror and Klondike.

readers and ftp transfer agents abound.

Email clients, Newsfeed viewers and

instant messengers are also included.

That’s not to forget all the multimedia

applications, games, productivity tools,

documentation and file utilities that are

also included on the DVD.

The DVD disc is full of all the tools and

utilities that you would expect from a

modern Linux distribution plus many,

many more. All of which are easily

installed onto the system from over 4.3

GBytes of compressed files, ensuring

that your tastes are catered for.

■

Installer components

• main-menu Controls which components are used for the installation

• languagechooser Choose your language for installation messages

• countrychooser Choose where you are in the world

• ddetect Finds hard disks attached to the computer

• pcmcia Configure PCMCIA devices for laptop networking

• kbd-chooser Choose your keyboard model

• netcfg Configure the network connections

• iso-scan Finds ISO filesystems on the computer

• choose-mirror Lets you choose the installation files location

• cdrom-detect Finds CD-ROM devices attached to the computer

• anna Installs packages from the chosen mirror

• partman The Debian preferred partitioning tool

• autopartkit Automatically partitions a whole hard disk if required

• partitioner Allows the partitioning of hard disks

• partconf Creates filesystems on your hard disk partitions

• base-installer Installs the basic system so Debian will run when rebooted

• kernel-chooser If more than one kernel exists, gives you the choice

• bootloader-installer Installs a boot loader so Debian will start without installation media

• baseconfig

Configure the system after rebooting for the first time

• shell

Execute a shell from the second console

Figure 4: Receive the news while you work with

OpenOffice and Knewsticker.

• bugreporter

Save problems to a floppy to report to Debian developer team

www.linux-magazine.com

June 2004

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