documentation project

[wigums]

we are working on a documentation project. a "how-to" of sorts to provide easy to follow instructions on things like
upgrading a kernel or how to make a bootable usb stick. does anyone have any suggestions of documentation they
would like on a specific subject?

theres no way we could ever compare to a project like arch wiki but we'll add documentation on various topics as we go
and it will grow and be a nice resource for our users

[sledgehammer]

I would like some documentation on how to build a slackware package that will run on VL 7.1-64 from source.   How to find the dependencies it needs.  And how to use the existing VL install from source program. 

[askfor]

Sledgehammer, you might want to check available slapt-get documentation.
 

[M0E-lnx]

I would like some documentation on how to build a slackware package that will run on VL 7.1-64 from source.   How to find the dependencies it needs.  And how to use the existing VL install from source program.

I can suggest getting familiar with the sbbuilder documentation.  You usually only need to pass a couple of arguments to it, and it will generate a working slackbuild for you.  See 'sbbuilder --manual' for help.

Unfortunately, there is no easy way to determine what a package may or may not need.  That depends on what you currently have installed.  That portion of the process is determinted by trial and error, until it passes.

[wigums]

and by some crafty interpretation of the build logs via your secret yoda decrypter ring

[askfor]

I suppose adapting existing Slackware packages might be a good start. I have not tried yet. However I installed couple of Slackware packages which I needed, and wasn't able to find in VL repositories. I have noticed that, at least, some of them, contain information what else is needed in human readable form. The information is displayed when one installs them with installpkg. I suppose there are other ways to read that information.

[sledgehammer]

My point is that as linux ages and gets more popular, many of the flavors have become rather boring.  Debian is an example.  Going outside the Debian repositories is a no-no.  But Vector is fun, in my case, because I am less fearful of breaking it. I find that when I want to try something new, I do it on 'vector.  Problem is that the new program generally comes in some other format....usually it seems ubuntu or red hat.  The trouble with make, make install etc is that if the program doesn't work, its difficult to uninstall it. 

I see Vector's notch as being a place where source programs can be installed.  Most vendors provide a source version.  Dependencies will always be a problem, and changing this may break that.  But if we vectorites could fearlessly opt for the source as the default and install from source, perhaps we could recapture some of the fun in computing.

I know I used to install from source and slackbuilds a lot.

Just my two bits worth.

You guys are doing a great job.  I regret having too little time to be of much help.

[wigums]

i admin my vector boxen the exact same as i do my slackware,
manually. i use existing slackbuilds and when something isnt available
i use makepkg or use a slackbuild template and edit it.

as far as building packages for vector linux we have a slackbuild
creater named sbbuilder and its in the repos, anyone can dl it.

ideally you would have a clean build enviroment for which we use docker,
which is also available and pretty easy to set up. you dont HAVE
to to use docker. you can run sbbuilder on your box and submit the slackbuild.

we use bitbucket for version control and thats how you would submit
said slackbuild.

we do have alot of documentation already written and available
but still needs some work. 7.2 is coming fast and the crew is working
just as fast to get the next release ready.

i personally hope to get enough time during 7.2s life to have the entire
project well on its way to completion (it will never really be "completed,
new stuff pops up all the time") the first set of docs im going to work on is packaging from start to finish. it really is rather easy once once ya get the hang of it um but the
point is its on the back burner now. its coming but we have some other things
to do first. so this is the long and short of packaging