PLD Linux Distribution

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====== Frequently Asked Questions ======


===== Polish version =====
Polish version of this FAQ (which should be kept in sync most of the times) is available [[:pl:FAQ|here]]. 



===== General questions =====


==== What does the acronym "PLD" stand for? ====
PLD is a recursive acronym (which are quite popular in the Open Source world) for PLD Linux Distribution. Do note, that it used to be Polish(ed) Linux Distribution, but that has changed many years ago and is no longer valid. 



==== Why are there two different PLD projects? ====
Up until May 2003 all crucial decisions concerning PLD were made by its (now former) leader, Tomasz Kłoczko. Many developers didn't agree with his way of handling things and, after finding repeated attempts to change the situation a failure, decided to stop using the parts of infrastructure controlled by Tomasz (including the most critical part - the CVS repository) and, by doing so, render him unable to force any decisions upon anyone. Tomasz was offered a position as a developer within the new structures (of course without the power he previously had) and decided, together with one other developer that refused to switch, to keep developing his own version of PLD under the original domain (the old site can be found at [[http://www.pld.org.pl/|http://www.pld.org.pl/]]). 



===== Practical issues =====


==== How to check what options were used to compile package X? ====
Go to [[http://buildlogs.pld-linux.org/|http://buildlogs.pld-linux.org/]], click "Advanced Search" and enter the desired package name into appropriate field. Then specify architecture and/or distribution version you are interested in (by only checking "/ac/i686" for example) and, after clicking "Search", find the appropriate table row (in this case it would be the one stating "/ac/i686/OK") and click "text". In the complete buildlog that should appear, you must search for the first line starting with "./configure" in which you can find all options passed to the package during compilation. 



==== How to check from which .spec file was package X built? ====
First of all, one should check whether there exists a spec file named just like the package. If not, the name of the spec file can be found in the output of one of these commands: 



<file>rpm -q --changelog package package2 | grep '$Log'
# for already installed packages

rpm -q --changelog -p package.rpm package2.rpm | grep '$Log'
# for packages available as files
</file>
One can also use a more sophisticated command (just like before, adding a "''-p''" switch after the "''--changelog''" command and giving full file names allows one to query packages from disk): 

<file>rpm -q --changelog package package2 | awk '/^\$Log:/ {spec=$2;gsub(",v$","",spec);print spec}'
</file>


==== How to check which package contains a particular file? ====
If the package is installed, you can invoke ''rpm'' as shown below: 

<file>rpm -qf /path/to/file
</file>
Keep in mind however, that if you do not specify the path, ''rpm'' will also check the list of installed packages for one matching the provided file name. That's why you should always use either absolute paths or paths relative to current directory (like //./filename//). 

If the package is not yet installed, you will have to use ''poldek''. Start ''poldek'' and type the following at the command prompt: 

<file>poldek> search -f *filename
</file>


==== Why can't I use su, sudo and ssh to access my root account? ====
Our security policy requires the user to be a member of the //wheel// group in order to be able to use root priviledges gained by invoking ''su'' and ''sudo''. This way compromising your machine requires the attacker to guess three parameters instead of just one (your user name, your password and root password as opposed to only the root password). 

Additionally, noone is able to remotely log in as root (for the same security reasons). Root is also unable to remotely use other services (ftp, imap, pop3, smtp) as they do not provide strong connection encryption. 



==== How can I check the package description in an other language than my locales are ? ====


<file>LANG="de_DE" rpm -q --qf %{description} package1 package2
# if package1 package2 are installed

LANG="de_DE" rpm -q --qf %{description} -p package1.rpm package2.rpm
# if package1 package2 are on your hard drive and not installed
</file>
The language can be any other of course (if the package supports it ex. pl_PL).
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