Questions about Ubuntu

[Ben Scott]

On Thu, Sep 18, 2008 at 10:09 AM, Neil Joseph Schelly
<neil at jenandneil.com> wrote:
> Dependency hell in a Debian system largely would come from using packages
> outside of the distribution for a different OS or different version.

  As you note, "Dependency Hell" generally arrises when one attempts
to use a package from outside the specific distribution and release
the system is running.  The third-party package may not have the same
build environment as the distribution, meaning dependencies cannot be
easily satisfied, and/or will be identified incorrectly.

  Ubuntu is derived from Debian sources, but as I understand things,
Ubuntu is not simply taking Debian binary packages (.deb files) and
redistributing them.  Ubuntu is building from sources.  They maintain
their own source tree, possibly with different upstream package
versions, different patches, and/or different build configurations.
They obviously share work with Debian, but there's not a one-to-one
correspondence.  (If anyone more familar with Ubuntu knows different,
please correct me.)

  Practical upshot is that if one takes a package (.deb file) built
for Debian and installs it into an Ubuntu system, one is very much
more likely to encounter "Dependency Hell", either during the install
attempt, or later on during upgrades or subsequent package install
attempts.  Even if the package is a perfect binary match between
Debian and Ubuntu (rather unlikely), the Ubuntu and Debian
repositories don't have the same sets of packages, releases, and
dependencies.

  Fortunately, the Ubuntu repository, while not as large as Debian's,
is still a pretty good size.

-- Ben