Or, if you’re unwilling to take that step, maintain a repository for RPM, YUM, and APT? That way, your Linux users can take advantage of their package managers and get a smaller download.

Now that my project is nearing completion, distribution is becoming a big concern, specifically distributing something that will run on most machines without a problem.

I already have all the non-OSS repositories I need (thus far) set up in Kubuntu. I have all the codecs working and I can even play DVDs. Thanks for the Mint tip though. I don’t know how interested I
am in moving further downstream when the source (Debian) is only one hop upstream.

I did some digging, and it seems that yum is installed in openSuse by default, maybe? But also, it seems that yum isn’t configured with repositories by default, rendering it effectively useless. If this is the case (or if yum isn’t even setup), you obviously can’t be slighted for not using yum, because Suse wasn’t setup for you to use it.

I think it’s pretty sad that openSuse isn’t setup by default with a “modern” command-line package manager complete with repositories. YAST was one of the main reasons I dropped Suse after only a few months of using it.

You might want to look into Linux Mint, which is Ubuntu-based distro that adds an extra repository for non-free features, like MPlayer with mpeg, avi, and wmv codes, which most distros shy away from. Mint has a Gnome and a KDE version as well, though it’s still very new.

Still, I get your point. I used the rpm command to install a locally downloaded rpm. I don’t think I’ve had to install a locally downloaded .deb file yet as most people provided their .debs in a repository.

I still maintain that, from an experiential standpoint, I’m making a valid comparison. Within one day of installing SUSE, the very first time mind you (pre-Novell days), I downloaded an rpm and used the rpm command as directed by a solution I found online. I have yet to need dpkg and I have the exact same functionality as I did under openSUSE.

To borrow your analogy, it’s much more like saying that 86 Fords lacked some of the comfort and features of a 95 Toyota and isn’t it grand that advancements are being made in design and functionality?!

For example, if you started off using GUIs you would compare Synaptic, Adept, and YAST, rightfully so.

But when you drop into the command line, the comparison would be between apt and YAST’s command-line tools.

The equivalent of using rpm to install rpms is using dpkg to install .debs, not using apt to find, search, auto-download dependencies, and see descriptions.

I think that while your experience played out in one way, I still don’t think it’s valid to compare rpm to apt and use that as a premise in your discussion of package management in Suse versus *Ubuntu. It’s equivalent to saying Fords are worse than Toyotas after having driven an 86 Ford and a 95 Toyota (yes, I’ve only ever bought used cars). Suse DID have a better option for command-line package management than rpm, it just seems you didn’t use it.

Googling answers to common question about either distro inevitably leads to answers involving YaST, rpm, Adept/Synaptic and apt. It’s not unreasonable to compare the default package handlers from two distros based upon end user experience.

YaST is/was an rpm front end and handles things that rpm doesn’t (like dependencies). openSUSE is migrating it to YUM, I believe, and that migration is part of the issues with stability, speed and the trouble syncing YaST data with upgrade data.

rpm is to dpkg as yum is to apt

I know Suse has YAST, but I don’t have enough experience with YAST to say whether it is based on yum or is equivalent to yum. Yast does seem to be more analogous with debian’s synaptic or dselect, but I remember there being some switches with yast that allowed you to bypass the frontend so you could install a package immediately.

Also, one should not forget that most distributions allow you to install other package managers. After struggling with YAST for some time I ended up installing Smart to manage my packages. It was faster, but still slower and more cumbersome than apt*.

*but then I’m just a debian kinda guy.