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moving files around, removing a duplicate file, adding a description page

    1: ***********************************************************
    2: * New changes to RPM list (bare minimal set for LON-CAPA) *
    3: ***********************************************************
    4: 
    5: Guy and Isaac kindly took time to go through the rpm package
    6: listings and pencil in their thoughts about how things were
    7: connected as well as suggesting modifications.
    8: 
    9: So, to continue this thread of discussion so that we
   10: can nail this down as "done", these are my responses.
   11: Perhaps we finalize this at next week's meeting?
   12: 
   13: +=agreement; -=disagreement; ?=still pondering
   14: 
   15: (To quelch any confusion, the words following the '+-?' character
   16: represent my current opinion).
   17: 
   18: (You can view the last rpm_list.txt file in the CVS doc repository).
   19: (This file is stored in rpm_list_discuss.txt in the CVS doc repository).
   20: 
   21: + Need to add ssh support
   22: + Need to add ImageMagick package
   23: + Do not need tetex-dvilj
   24: + Do not need tetex-xdvi
   25: + Will keep tetex-afm
   26: - do not need any X-based applications like
   27:   gftp or gv (since the bare minimal set does not support
   28:   X-windows; it's just a server)
   29: ? krb5-libs; krb5-config
   30:   Gerd indicated the desire to stick with the current from-
   31:   source-compilation of kerberos.  I probably should test
   32:   out these RPMs anyway on one of the machines that does not
   33:   yet have the kerberos functionality implemented with the
   34:   zaphod compiled binaries.
   35: - do not need telnet or telnet server (security risk)
   36: - Let's keep gnupg and gpgp packages.  Support public encryption
   37:   and is a "failsafe" way to verify rpm packages and their files on
   38:   a RedHat derived system.
   39: - ftp could be very useful after a admin ssh's into the system
   40:   (ftp is a client app, not a server).  Let's keep ftp.
   41: - Let's keep sysreport:
   42:   Here is the RPM description..
   43:   Sysreport is a utility which gathers information about a system's
   44:   hardware and configuration. The information can then be used for
   45:   diagnostic purposes and debugging.  Sysreport is commonly used to help
   46:   support technicians and developers by providing a "snapshot" of a
   47:   system's current layout.
   48: - Let's keep ncompress and bzip2.  Standard compression/decompression
   49:   utilities.  In the course of maintaining, upgrading a LON-CAPA machine,
   50:   it is conceivable that we need to send a bzipped upgrade file (bzip2
   51:   is becoming more and more prevalent as I understand it).
   52: + Need to add ghostscript-fonts (thanks for pointing it out Isaac).
   53: ? cdrecord, cdrecord-devel
   54: ? There is a whole host of image manipulation libraries.  Isaac believes
   55:   ghostscript relies on some of these, and he's probably right.
   56:   libgr libgr-devel libgr-progs libjpeg libjpeg-devel libpng libpng-devel
   57:   libungif libungif-devel libtiff libtiff-devel
   58: - Let's keep units. (very debatable still..) 
   59:   Units converts an amount from one unit to another, or tells you what
   60:   mathematical operation you need to perform to convert from one unit to
   61:   another.  Units can only handle multiplicative scale changes (i.e., it
   62:   can't tell you how to convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit, which
   63:   requires an additive step in addition to the multiplicative
   64:   conversion).
   65: 
   66:   Units is a handy little program which contains a large number of
   67:   conversions, from au's to parsecs and tablespoons to cups.  You
   68:   probably don't need to install it, but it comes in handy sometimes.
   69: - Let's keep routed.
   70:   The routed routing daemon handles incoming RIP traffic and broadcasts
   71:   outgoing RIP traffic about network traffic routes, in order to
   72:   maintain current routing tables.  These routing tables are essential
   73:   for a networked computer, so that it knows where packets need to be
   74:   sent.
   75: 
   76:   The routed package should be installed on any networked machine.
   77: - Let's keep quota.  (What if, for instance, an instructor creates
   78:   stupendously huge quicktime movies?)  Why crash the system?
   79:   The quota package contains system administration tools for monitoring
   80:   and limiting users' and or groups' disk usage, per filesystem.
   81: 
   82:   Install quota if you want to monitor and/or limit user/group disk
   83:   usage.
   84: + Let's get rid of shapecfg.  (It does set traffic bandwidth parameters,
   85:   but this probably is ridiculous overhead).
   86: - No need for netscape-navigator since, once again, the bare minimal
   87:   system will not have X-windows
   88: ? cracklib/cracklib-dicts: seriously, there may be a real issue with
   89:   instructors picking very-easy-to guess passwords.  Do we want some
   90:   level of password enforcement?
   91: + Ok ok ok ok.. we'll have man-pages if it makes Guy happy :)
   92: - giftrans, not really needed, is it?
   93: - sgml-common/libxml/etc, most of the redhat rpms related to sgml and xml
   94:   are still in their infancy in terms of providing needed algorithms.
   95:   I don't think we are using any of them. Are we?
   96: - We don't need imlib or imlib-devel.  It is X-windows specific.
   97: