Trying to decide... [Solved]

[linuxpcplus]

I am thinking about switching over to Sabayon from Zorin, the one hesitation I have is software installation. I have never built a package from source. I know many apps can be installed with Rigo easily, but many must be done so via building source. So my questions are:
1- How easy is it to build from source?
2-What must you consider before installing from source?
3-What resources are available to help me learn to build from source?

I suppose a few details about me would be helpful: I have 4 years Linux experience (primarily Ubuntu based distros). I am kind of a geek & I love to learn new techniques/skills related to computing.That being said, I use my only pc for business 8-10 hours/day, so I MUST AVOID down time as much as possible! This means I have to be able to learn on my "working" computer with little risk.
I am grateful for any help I can get.

[Jomiel]

Hi,
the good thing about sabayon is that it is based on gentoo (where you build from source), but the package manager that sabayon uses packages (no building needed).
So no need to build packages yourself. So if you need a package that isn't in our repos, you can build them yourself or request them. The devs are allways kind enough to grant your wishes^^.

cheers
Jomiel

[ratcheer]

I am kind of a geek & I love to learn new techniques/skills related to computing.That being said, I use my only pc for business 8-10 hours/day, so I MUST AVOID down time as much as possible! This means I have to be able to learn on my "working" computer with little risk.
I am grateful for any help I can get.

Do you have extra room on your disk drive where you could install a separate Sabayon system just for learning? Then you could play with the learning system to your heart's content, without worrying about messing up your main system. That is what I do.

Tim

[linuxpcplus]

Thanks for thre great replies! Unfortunately, I dont have space on my drive to dual-boot. I may consider obtaining another external drive however.
So if the packages manager packages, all I have to do is download the source code & run the package manager? Do I understand correctly? That sounds awesome if it is.
You see, I am trying to get away from the Ubuntu based distros to something a little more....challenging. I want to learn NEW Linux systems & how they work. I feel I have become relatively proficient with buntu's, & I need a challenge. Sabayon 9 was highly reccomended by LAS, which I have come to trust!
So I think i am going to give Sabayon 9 KDE a shot. I have cloned my current system, so IF it doesnt work out I can quickly & easily restore my system to it's current state.

[cl00t]

Thanks for thre great replies! Unfortunately, I dont have space on my drive to dual-boot. I may consider obtaining another external drive however.
So if the packages manager packages, all I have to do is download the source code & run the package manager? Do I understand correctly? That sounds awesome if it is.
You see, I am trying to get away from the Ubuntu based distros to something a little more....challenging. I want to learn NEW Linux systems & how they work. I feel I have become relatively proficient with buntu's, & I need a challenge. Sabayon 9 was highly reccomended by LAS, which I have come to trust!
So I think i am going to give Sabayon 9 KDE a shot. I have cloned my current system, so IF it doesnt work out I can quickly & easily restore my system to it's current state.

Hello & welcome. No, you don't need to download the source code. You can use Rigo, Sabayons package manager to install packages or equo via the command line. Here's an example of installing opera:

Code: Select all

# equo install opera --ask
>>  @@ These are the chosen packages:
>>    # (1/1) [sabayon-weekly] www-client/opera-12.00.1467-r1
>>     Versions: Not installed / NoTag / NoRev ===> 12.00.1467-r1 / NoTag / 0
>>      Action:          Install
>>  @@ Packages involved: 1
     Would you like to continue with dependencies calculation ? [Yes/No] y
>>  @@ Calculating dependencies ...
>>  @@ These are the packages that would be installed:
>>  ## [N] [sabayon-weekly] www-client/opera-12.00.1467-r1|0
>>  @@ Packages needing to be installed/updated/downgraded: 1
>>  @@ Packages needing to be removed: 0
>>  @@ Packages needing to be installed: 1
>>  @@ Packages needing to be reinstalled: 0
>>  @@ Packages needing to be updated: 0
>>  @@ Packages needing to be downgraded: 0
>>  @@ Download size: 15.0MB
>>  @@ Used disk space: 40.1MB
>>  @@ You need at least: 70.1MB of free space
     Would you like to execute the queue ? [Yes/No]


Or you can use equo to install more than one package at a time, another example installing opera, chromium & midori:

Code: Select all

# equo install opera chromium midori --ask
>>  @@ These are the chosen packages:
>>    # (1/3) [sabayon-weekly] www-client/opera-12.00.1467-r1
>>     Versions: Not installed / NoTag / NoRev ===> 12.00.1467-r1 / NoTag / 0
>>      Action:          Install
>>    # (2/3) [sabayon-weekly] www-client/chromium-20.0.1132.43
>>     Versions: Not installed / NoTag / NoRev ===> 20.0.1132.43 / NoTag / 0
>>      Action:          Install
>>    # (3/3) [sabayon-weekly] www-client/midori-0.4.3
>>     Versions: Not installed / NoTag / NoRev ===> 0.4.3 / NoTag / 0
>>      Action:          Install
>>  @@ Packages involved: 3
     Would you like to continue with dependencies calculation ? [Yes/No] y
>>  @@ Calculating dependencies ...
>>  @@ These are the packages that would be installed:
>>  ## [N] [sabayon-weekly] www-client/opera-12.00.1467-r1|0
>>  ## [N] [sabayon-weekly] media-libs/libwebp-0.1.3|0
>>  ## [N] [sabayon-weekly] dev-lang/v8-3.10.8.10|0
>>  ## [N] [sabayon-weekly] www-client/chromium-20.0.1132.43|0
>>  ## [N] [sabayon-weekly] dev-libs/libunique-1.1.6-r1|0
>>  ## [N] [sabayon-weekly] www-client/midori-0.4.3|0
>>  @@ Packages needing to be installed/updated/downgraded: 6
>>  @@ Packages needing to be removed: 0
>>  @@ Packages needing to be installed: 6
>>  @@ Packages needing to be reinstalled: 0
>>  @@ Packages needing to be updated: 0
>>  @@ Packages needing to be downgraded: 0
>>  @@ Download size: 45.4MB
>>  @@ Used disk space: 157.6MB
>>  @@ You need at least: 248.5MB of free space
     Would you like to execute the queue ? [Yes/No]


You probably best have a look at the wiki, but after install ensure you look at this http://wiki.sabayon.org/index.php?title ... t_to_do.3F

[linuxpcplus]

But what if the repos dont have the latest version of something? Example: In Riggo the version of Kdenlive that is available is 0.8.2, but the latest version is 0.9 which has new features I need. How do I install the latest version of something if it is not in the Sabayon repos?
& by the way, I did the system updates immediately after installation.

[ratcheer]

Kdenlive 0.9.2 is available in the Gentoo Portage repos, but make sure you know what you're doing before you install it from there.

Tim

[linuxpcplus]

how or where do i find instructions to do this?

[svantoviit]

what about the wiki?
https://wiki.sabayon.org/index.php?title=En:Entropy
https://wiki.sabayon.org/index.php?title=HOWTO:_Install_Packages_on_Sabayon_/_The_Complete_Portage_Guide
https://wiki.sabayon.org/index.php?title=HOWTO:_Safely_mix_Entropy_and_Portage

[linuxpcplus]

sweer. thanks for the help everyone