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Now comes the fun part: choosing the software you want to install.
True to its roots as a diskette-based operating system, Linux divides software into disk sets. Each disk set is uniquely named and corresponds to a specific part of the operating system. For example, the A series contains the core of Linux, and its installation is mandatory.
The setup program divides disk sets and the software within into mandatory and optional installations. Some of the elements of Linux, such as the aforementioned A series, is mandatory. Other installations, such as terminal packages, are optional. During the installation process, Linux will automatically install the mandatory packages and will prompt you before installing the optional packages.
NOTE: There is a way to override this, as will be explained later in this section.
During the initial menu entitled Series Selection, you’ll be presented with a list of the disk sets and a short explanation of what is contained on them. Generally speaking, you won’t want to install all the disk sets, as there are some disk sets that overlap and their coexistence on the hard drive is not wise (particularly when it comes to development tools). In addition, you don’t want to waste the hard disk space needed for a full installation—will you really need three or four text editors, multiple text-formatting packages, and a slew of fonts you will never use? Choose the software you think you’re likely to use. You can always run the setup program again and install additional disk sets in the future.
NOTE: Technically speaking, all that’s needed for a minimal installation of Linux is the A disk set.
The full set of disk sets is listed in Table 2.6.
| Series | Purpose |
|---|---|
| A | The base system; if you install only this disk set, you’ll have enough to get up and running and have elvis and comm programs available. |
| AP | Various applications and add-ons, such as the online manual (man) pages, groff, ispell, term (and many TCP/IP programs ported to term), joe, jed, jove, ghostscript, sc, bc, ftape support, and the quota utilities. |
| D | Program development; GCC/G++/Objective C 2.7.2.1, make (GNU and BSD), byacc and GNU bison, flex, the 5.4.23 C libraries, gdb, kernel source for Linux 2.0.x. SVGAlib, ncurses, clisp, f2c, p2c, m4, perl, rcs, and dll tools. |
| E | GNU emacs 19.31. |
| F | A collection of FAQs and other documentation. |
| K | Source code for the Linux 2.0.x kernel. |
| N | Networking; TCP/IP, UUCP, mailx, dip, PPP, deliver, elm, pine, BSD sendmail, cnews, nn, tin, trn, and inn. |
| T | teTeX release 0.4 (teTex is Thomas Esser’s Tex distribution for Linux.) |
| TCL | Tcl, Tk, TclX; A port of the major Tcl packages to Linux, including shared library support. |
| X | The base XFree86 3.2 system, with libXpm, fvwm 1.23b, and xlock added. |
| XAP | X applications: X11 ghostscript, libgr13, seyon, workman, xfilemanager, xv 3.01, GNU chess and xboard, xfm 1.3, ghostview, gnuplot, xpaint, xfractint, fvwm-95-2, and various X games. |
| XD | X11 server link kit, static libraries, and PEX support. |
| XV | Xview 3.2p1-X11R6; XView libraries, and the Open Look virtual and nonvirtual window managers for XFree86 3.2. |
| Y | Games; the BSD games collection, Tetris for terminals, and Sasteroids. |
Mark the disk sets you want to install by pressing the SpaceBar.
You’ll then be asked whether you want to use the default tagfiles or create your own. When a piece of software is installed, it’s said to be tagged. By using the default tagfiles, you are installing software deemed to be mandatory, while the system prompts you before installing packages that aren’t mandatory. Again, your best move is to go with the default unless you’ve had experience with custom tagfiles and know exactly what you want to install.
WARNING: At this point there’s an option to install everything. Don’t do this, unless you’ve designated a small group of disk sets to be installed and know that you do indeed want to install everything.
Linux will begin the installation. It will tell you what’s being installed, including mandatory packages. When it comes to a nonmandatory piece of software, it will stop and ask if you do indeed want to install the software. (It also differentiates between software, noting if the installation is recommended—which means you really should install it—or optional.) An added bonus during this process is that setup will tell you how much disk space the nonmandatory software will use (alas, there’s no overall reckoning of how much space the entire installation will use). Use the cursor keys to move between the Yes and No choices, and use Enter to move on.
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