[kwlug-disc] how to install fedora rpms on ubuntu 10.04?

[Chris Frey]

On Thu, May 27, 2010 at 02:33:30PM -0400, Robert P. J. Day wrote:

[whack of dependencies]

>   and that's why i'm nervous ... that many dependencies, and i don't
> know how to verify that it'll install properly after being converted
> from an rpm file.  so i'm just looking for a multi-step recipe where i
> can verify that each step works, and handles deps, and ... you get the
> idea.
> 
>   i have my two .deb files.  now what?

You will be installing over top of the existing deb, instead of
removing first.  This should take care of the dependencies.

But your new .deb might not have all the right dependencies listed.
As long as you don't uninstall them, your system will work, but it
will be brittle.

You may know this already, but you can examine the contents of a .deb
with ar:

	ar x barry-util_0.16-0_i386.deb

This creates a few files, including some tarballs with control information
and the actual binary.  You can double check everything manually this way.

You may also just want to create your own .deb, using the existing
packaging, as Lori suggested.  Use apt-get builddep to make sure building
works, use apt-get source to grab the debian sources, copy the debian
directory over to your version, update the version number in changelog,
and then run:

	fakeroot -- debian/rules binary

There are more official ways to do that, but that's how I do it.

In any case, you can always go back.  If the new .deb doesn't work as you
expect, purge it, and then install the debian version again, and your
old dependencies will come back.

If everything works, you may wish to put a hold on the package with
aptitude, so that further updates will not blow away your custom package.

Good luck,
- Chris