These are from the year 2006.
pkgtool
The main menu is shown when pkgtool
is started with no command
line options. It allows easy access to all important package management
features. Note especially the QuickUpdate, which is a quick way to
check for availability of security updates.
Tukaani pkgtools support multiple repositories. When adding a new
package source, pkgtool
first prompts for a repository name.
pkgtool
contains a list of most popular repostories and their mirros.
Alternatively you can type in a custom URL or pathname. To create
your own repositories you can use a utility called
makerepo
, which is a part of the Tukaani pkgtools.
From this menu you can open a repository for browsing and also add, edit and delete repositories. Deleting a repository is done using the Edit button.
One repository usually contains hundreds of packages. Usually you are looking for updates for packages already installed or completely new package you do not have installed yet. Or would like to try a new audio player? Try CustomDesc and type “audio” and you will be shown a list of packages whose descriptions contain the word “audio”.
The official Slackware package tree (and other repositories having similar package tree such as Tukaani) are automatically split in disksets to make browsing the package list easier.
On the right side is shown which version is currently installed. The bottom line shows the first line of the package description (usually name and short description) and compressed and uncompressed (installed) size.
Pressing the Details button in the package browser shows the package description and other information related to the selected package. And, by the way, the Tukaani installation program uses pkgtool’s package browser, thus allowing both newbies and experts to view the package descriptions when selecting packages to be installed.
After selecting the packages, you press the Actions button. From there you can choose to install or download the packages you have selected, or update the package database which downloads fresh PACKAGES.TXT and CHECKSUMS.md5 files. The downloaded packages are stored to the package cache directory which is /var/cache/packages by default. (The same directory is used by slackpkg.)
At the top left corner there’s a counter showing the package number and total amount of packages selected. Below the package name is the description followed by the download progress information printed by wget.
Summary of installed packages lists the new *.new
files,
which should be checked by the administrator.
Linuxpackages.net repository filtered with CustomDesc (see screenshot
number 5) using vorbis
as the search string.
Now you can view the package descriptions and filelists while selecting packages for removal. Well, this has been in other distributions for ages, better late than never. ;-)
Sometimes command line is more comfortable than menus.
Almost all the features of pkgtool
are also available as
non-interactive commands which can be useful e.g. when
pkgtool
is called from other scripts.
The user has first updated the package database of the repostory called Audioslack. Then he has listed what updated packages there are available.
Other screenshots
Most Slackers know that package contents can be easily viewed
using tar tzf
or less
. viewpkg
is an
additional tool for the job showing a bit more information.
It supports many command line options with which you can
customize the output suitable to your needs.
Sometimes improvements in small details make things nicer. Look at the confirmation prompts. The user has pressed just enter on both as he had liked to use the defaults shown in brackets.
upgradepkg
has had some cosmetical changes. The package count
is shown in a similar way as it is in pkgtool
(see screenshots 10 and 11). Also the package description is now
printed in an ASCII “frame” without the leading package name which
makes even the widest package descriptions print tidily.