dselect Documentation for Beginners
dselect is Launched
Once in dselect you will get this screen:
Debian `dselect' package handling frontend.
0. [A]ccess Choose the access method to use.
1. [U]pdate Update list of available packages, if possible.
2. [S]elect Request which packages you want on your system.
3. [I]nstall Install and upgrade wanted packages.
4. [C]onfig Configure any packages that are unconfigured.
5. [R]emove Remove unwanted software.
6. [Q]uit Quit dselect.
[some other stuff]
Let's look at these one by one.
Here's the access screen:
dselect - list of access methods
Abbrev. Description
cdrom Install from a CD-ROM.
* multi_cd Install from a CD-ROM set.
nfs Install from an NFS server (not yet mounted).
multi_nfs Install from an NFS server (using the CD-ROM set) (not yet mounted).
harddisk Install from a hard disk partition (not yet mounted).
mounted Install from a filesystem which is already mounted.
multi_mount Install from a mounted partition with changing contents.
floppy Install from a pile of floppy disks.
apt APT Acquisition [file,http,ftp]
Here we tell dselect where our packages are. Please ignore the
order that these appear in. It is very important that you select the proper
method for installation. You may have a few more methods listed, or a few
less, or see them listed in a different order; just don't worry about it. In
the following list, we describe the different methods.
apt(8)) system to do complete dependency analysis and ordering, so
it's most likely to install packages in the optimal order.
Configuration of this method is straight-forward; you may select any number of different locations, mixing and matching file: URLs (local disks or NFS mounted disks), http: URLs, or ftp: URLs. You can also include CD-ROM/DVD media with apt-cdrom command.
Please see the sources.list(5) manual page for more information on
the format of the /etc/apt/sources.list file.
If you have proxy server for either HTTP or FTP (or both), make sure you set the http_proxy or ftp_proxy environment variables, respectively. Set them from your shell before starting dselect, e.g.:
# export http_proxy=http://gateway:3128/
# dselect
Packages.cd). When you first select this
method, be sure the CD-ROM you will be using is not mounted. Place the last
binary disk of the set (we don't need the source CDs) in the drive and
answer the questions you are asked:
Once you have updated the available list and selected the packages to be installed, the multi-cd method diverges from normal procedure. You will need to run an ``install'' step for each of the CDs you have in turn. Unfortunately due to the limitations of dselect it will not be able to prompt you for a new disk at each stage; the way to work for each disk is
It may be neccesary to run the installation step more than once to cover the order of package installation - some packages installed early may need to have later packages installed before they will configure properly.
Running a ``Configure'' step is recommended, to help fix any packages that may end up in this state.
This is a simple installation method, with simple requirements: give it the
address of the NFS server, the location of the Debian distribution on the
server and (maybe) the Packages file(s). Then dselect will
install the various sections in turn from the server. Slow but easy; does not
use proper ordering, so it will take many runs of the ``Install'' and/or
``Configure'' steps. Obviously only appropriate for NFS based installation.
Supply the block device of the hard drive partition to use, and the locations of the Debian files on that partition, as usual. Slow and easy. Does not use proper ordering, so it will take many runs of the ``Install'' and/or ``Configure'' steps. Not recommended, since the ``apt'' method supports this functionality, with proper ordering.
Simply specify the location(s) of the Debian files in your filesystem. Possibly the easiest method, but slow. Does not use proper ordering, so it will take many runs of the ``Install'' and/or ``Configure'' steps.
Designed for single-CD installations, this simple method will ask for the location of your CD-ROM drive, the location of the Debian distribution on that disk and then (if necessary) the location(s) of the Packages file(s) on the disk. Simple but quite slow. Does not use proper ordering, so it will take many runs of the ``Install'' and/or ``Configure'' steps. Not recommended, because it assumes the distribution is on a single CD-ROM, which is no longer the case. Use the ``multi_cd'' method instead.
If you run into any problems -- maybe Linux can not see your CD-ROM, your NFS mount is not working or you have forgotten which partition the packages are on -- you have a couple of options:
dselect and run it again later. You might even need to shut
down the computer to solve some problem. This is quite ok but when you come
back to dselect run it as root. It will not be run automatically
after the first time.
After you choose the access method dselect will get you to
indicate the precise location of the packages. If you do not get this right
the first time hit Control-C and return to the ``Access'' item.
Once you are finished here, you will be returned to the main screen.
dselect will read the Packages or
Packages.gz files from the mirror and create a database on your
system of all available packages. This may take a while as it downloads and
processes the files.
Hang on to your hat. This is where it all happens. The purpose of this step is to select just which packages you wish to have installed.
Hit Enter. If you have a slow machine be aware that the screen will clear and can remain blank for some 15 seconds, so don't start bashing keys at this point, just be patient.
The first thing that comes up on the screen is page 1 of the Help file. You can get to this help by hitting ? at any time in the ``Select'' screens and you can page through the help screens by hitting the . (full stop) key.
Please be prepared to take an hour or so as you have to learn your way around and then get it right. When you enter the ``Select'' screen for the first time, don't make ANY selections at all -- just hit Enter and see what dependency problems there are. Try fixing them. If you find yourself back at the main screen, enter ``Select'', Section 2.3 again.
Before you dive in, note these points:
dselect will warn you of the problem and will most likely suggest
a solution. If package A conflicts with package B (i.e.,
if they are mutually exclusive) you will be asked to decide between them.
Let's look at the top two lines of the ``Select'' screen.
dselect - main package listing (avail., priority) mark:+/=/- verbose:v help:?
EIOM Pri Section Package Inst.ver Avail.ver Description
This header reminds us of some of the special keys:
Flag Meaning Possible values
E Error Space, R, I
I Installed state Space, *, -, U, C, I
O Old mark *, -, =, _, n
M Mark *, -, =, _, n
(Note that upper and lower case keys are quite different in effect.)
Rather that spell all this out here, I will refer you to the Help screens where everything will be revealed to you. One example, though:
You enter dselect and find a line like this:
EIOM Pri Section Package Description
** Opt misc loadlin a loader (running under DOS) for LINUX kernel
This means that loadlin was selected when you last ran dselect and
that it is still selected, but it is not installed. Why not? The answer must
be that the loadlin package is not physically available, that is, it must be
missing from your mirror.
The information which dselect uses to get all the right packages
installed is buried in the Packages files (the thing you downloaded in the
[U]pdate step). These files are generated from the packages themselves.
Nothing in this world is perfect and it sometimes happens that the dependencies
built into a package are incorrect, which can cause a situation that
dselect simply cannot resolve. However, you can get out of such a
loop by using the commands Q and X.
dselect to ignore the built-in dependencies
and to do what you have specified. This could, of course, turn out to be a bad
idea.
Keys which help you not to get lost (!) are R, U and D.
dselect had proposed changes and then you made additional
changes, U will restore dselect's selections.
dselect, leaving only yours.
An example follows. The xmms package (chosen because it has a lot
of dependencies) depends on these packages:
libc6
libglib1.2
libgtk1.2
xlibs
The following packages should also be installed. These are not, however, essential:
libaudiofile0
libesd0
libgl1
libmikmod2
libogg0
libvorbis0
libxml1
zlib1g
So, when I select xmms, I get a screen like this:
dselect - recursive package listing mark:+/=/- verbose:v help:?
EIOM Pri Section Package Description
_* Opt sound xmms Versatile X audio player that looks like Winamp
_* Opt libs libglib1.2 The GLib library of C routines
_* Opt libs libgtk1.2 The GIMP Toolkit set of widgets for X
_* Opt libs libmikmod2 A portable sound library
_* Opt libs libogg0 Ogg Bitstream Library
_* Opt libs libvorbis0 The OGG Vorbis lossy audio compression codec.
(Other packages may or may not appear, depending on what is already in your system). You'll notice that all the required packages have been selected for me, along with the recommended ones.
The R key puts things back to the starting point.
dselect - recursive package listing mark:+/=/- verbose:v help:?
EIOM Pri Section Package Description
__ Opt sound xmms Versatile X audio player that looks like Winamp
__ Opt libs libglib1.2 The GLib library of C routines
__ Opt libs libgtk1.2 The GIMP Toolkit set of widgets for X
__ Opt libs libmikmod2 A portable sound library
__ Opt libs libogg0 Ogg Bitstream Library
__ Opt libs libvorbis0 The OGG Vorbis lossy audio compression codec.
To decide now that you don't want xmms, just hit Enter.
The Dkey puts things the way I selected them in the first place:
dselect - recursive package listing mark:+/=/- verbose:v help:?
EIOM Pri Section Package Description
_* Opt sound xmms Versatile X audio player that looks like Winamp
__ Opt libs libglib1.2 The GLib library of C routines
__ Opt libs libgtk1.2 The GIMP Toolkit set of widgets for X
__ Opt libs libmikmod2 A portable sound library
__ Opt libs libogg0 Ogg Bitstream Library
__ Opt libs libvorbis0 The OGG Vorbis lossy audio compression codec.
The U key restores dselect's selections:
dselect - recursive package listing mark:+/=/- verbose:v help:?
EIOM Pri Section Package Description
_* Opt sound xmms Versatile X audio player that looks like Winamp
_* Opt libs libglib1.2 The GLib library of C routines
_* Opt libs libgtk1.2 The GIMP Toolkit set of widgets for X
_* Opt libs libmikmod2 A portable sound library
_* Opt libs libogg0 Ogg Bitstream Library
_* Opt libs libvorbis0 The OGG Vorbis lossy audio compression codec.
I suggest running with the defaults for now -- you will have ample opportunity of adding more later.
Whatever you decide, hit Enter to accept and return to the main screen. If this results in unresolved problems you will be bounced right back to another problem resolution screen.
The R, U, and D keys are very useful in ``what if'' situations. You can experiment at will and then restore everything and start again. Don't look on them as being in a glass box labelled ``Break In Emergency.''
After making your selections in the ``Select'' screen, hit the I to
give you a big window, t to take you to the beginning and then use the
Page-Down key to look quickly through the settings. This way you can
check the results of your work and spot glaring errors. Some people have
deselected whole groups of packages by mistake and didn't notice the error
until it was too late. dselect is a very powerful tool,
so you better not misuse it.
You should now have this situation:
package category status
required all selected
important all selected
standard mostly selected
optional mostly deselected
extra mostly deselected
Happy? Hit Enter to exit the ``Select'' process. You can come back and run ``Select'' again if you wish.
dselect runs through the entire set of 7200 packages and installs
those selected. Expect to get asked to make decisions as you go.
The screen scrolls past fairly quickly on a fast machine. You can stop/start
it with Control-s/Control-q and at the end of the run you
will get a list of any uninstalled packages. If you want to keep a record of
everything that happens, use common Unix programs for capturing output, like
tee(1) or script(1).
It can happen that a package does not get installed because it depends on some other package which is listed for installation but is not yet installed. The answer to this is to run ``Install'' again. It has been reported that sometimes it was necessary to run it 4 times before everything fit into place. This will vary by your acquisistion method; with the APT method, you will almost never need to run ``Install'' again.
Most packages get configured in step 3, but anything left hanging can be configured here.
Removes packages that are installed but no longer required.
Exits dselect.
I suggest running /etc/cron.daily/find at this point, as you have
a lot of new files on your system. After this you'll be able to use
locate to find any given file.
dselect Documentation for Beginners
debian-doc@lists.debian.org