Updated 2/13/10 -- added link to ps3bodega repo for YDL 6.2
Updated 8/14/09 -- added repos for YDL 6.2; protect yellowdog-extras
Updated 5/16/09 -- changed url for fedora-extras
Updated 4/14/09 -- excluding packages from fedora-extras in case protectbase fails
EDIT: Note -- the same third party repos still appear to work OK with YDL 6.1. The additional repos may cause problems with YDL 6.2. If you want to use these third party repos with 6.2, at this point I'm recommending that you disable the yellowdog-extras repo (change enabled=1 to enabled=0)
Instructions for setting up a different third party repo ("ps3bodega") for YDL 6.2 instead of fedora-extras/livna/dribble can be found here:
http://pleasantfiction.ipower.com/bodeg ... =555#p3238
On a Windows or Mac machine, you would typically go to a website and download a setup file to install new software. In some cases you can do something similar to that in Linux. But, at least for now, forget all of that.
Yellow Dog is an RPM (Red Hat Package Manager) based Linux distribution. An RPM file is a pre-compiled software package. Since there are numerous versions of many different distributions of Linux which run on many different CPU architectures (x86, AMD64, PPC), there will likely be many different RPM files for a single application.
You can get RPM packages from repositories ("repos") that include software packaged for your particular distribution (Yellow Dog), version (6), and system architecture (ppc). Yellow Dog comes configured with three repositories -- yellowdog-base, yellowdog-extras, and yellowdog-updates. With just these default repos you can install an incredible number of applications.
You do this by selecting the menu item:
Applications -> System Tools -> Add/Remove Software
Once the Package Manager is loaded you can Search, Browse, or List the available applications. If you see something you want to install, you simply check the box next to it and click Apply (or the menu item File -> Apply). Then it will show what package(s) you selected and give you the option to Cancel or Continue. Don't go crazy with it -- try installing just one thing at a time at first!
Next it will start resolving dependencies. This means the package you selected may require another package in order for it to work, so the Package Manager tries to take care of that for you. If any dependencies (other packages) were added, it will notify you and give you the option to Cancel or Continue.
Once you click Continue it starts downloading packages and installs everything. Finally you get a window saying "Software Installation successfully completed." Once you click OK, the Package Manager window closes.
If the application has a graphical user interface it should now show up in your menu in an appropriate location (Games, Internet, etc).
If you installed a terminal based application with no graphical user interface (GUI), there won't be a new menu option for it. You may not even know what terminal command is used to start it. It is usually the same as the name of the package, and installed in the folder: /usr/bin Documentation is typically installed in the folder /usr/share/doc/[application-version] folder.
For example, the executable file for the gedit text editor that comes installed on Yellow Dog 6 is located here:
/usr/bin/gedit
And the documentation is here:
/usr/share/doc/gedit-2
Viewing documentation:
Some applications install "man pages" and you can view these from the terminal with:
man application
Using gedit as an example again:
man gedit
An easy way to view all the documentation installed on your system is to point Firefox to:
/usr/share/doc or file:///user.share.doc/ then look for the application you've installed.
You can add a bookmark to this link in Firefox -- just go to Bookmarks -> Bookmark this page or press Ctrl+D. In the "Page Bookmarked" window, change the folder to "Bookmarks Toolbar" and click Done. Then you'll have easy access to all the docs from Firefox.
Set up Additional Repositories
In addition to the default repos, you can set up other compatible repos that provide even more applications. To do this, we add certain text files to a folder called /etc/yum.repos.d
You need to have "root privileges" to add or edit files in this folder. Instead of logging out of your regular user account and logging in as "root", you can temporarily grant yourself root privileges from a terminal window. A program started from this terminal window would then have root privileges.
So, open a terminal window by selecting the menu item: Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal. That should open a new window with a [your username@localhost ~]$ prompt.
The command su is used to change your effective user id and group id. Entered by itself with no arguments, it assumes you want to become the "root" user and will ask for the root password. Enter this now:
- Code: Select all
su -l
<root password>
(that's a lowercase l, not number 1)
Then you can open the graphical text editor from this terminal window as if you were logged in as root. So enter this:
- Code: Select all
gedit
This should open a blank window titled "Unsaved Document 1".
Copy the following text in the box below Code: (highlight, right-click, select Copy -- do NOT use the forum's Select All function) from your browser window to your "Unsaved Document 1" window (right-click in the blank window and select Paste).
- Code: Select all
[fedora-extras]
name=Fedora Extras
#mirrorlist=http://mirrors.fedoraproject.org/mirrorlist?repo=extras-6&arch=ppc
baseurl=http://archives.fedoraproject.org/pub/archive/fedora/linux/extras/6/ppc/
gpgcheck=0
enabled=1
protect=0
exclude=finch pidgin libpurple libpurple-perl libpurple-tcl pidgin-perl \
libpurple-devel finch-devel pidgin-devel libsmi libsmi-devel oddjob \
pyxdg lzo lzo-devel cvsps convmv nautilus-open-terminal gtk+ gtk+-devel \
perl-Pod-Escapes netlabel_tools freeglut-devel freeglut perl-Pod-Simple \
perl-PAR-Dist perl-ExtUtils-CBuilder keyutils-libs keyutils \
keyutils-libs-devel gnash scribus splint scribus-devel perl-YAML \
perl-Pod-Coverage conman gnash-plugin libibverbs oddjob-libs libhugetlbfs \
libibverbs-utils libibverbs-devel oddjob-devel asciidoc perl-Error exim \
glib tla mesa-libGLw mesa-libGLw-devel exim-doc hatari sblim-testsuite \
perl-Module-Build help2man perl-Test-Pod libmthca-devel libmthca git \
git-cvs git-gui git-svn git-arch git-email gitk perl-Git meanwhile-doc \
meanwhile-devel meanwhile Canna exim-mon perl-Test-Pod-Coverage glib-devel \
lsscsi sabayon-apply sabayon sblim-cmpi-devel sblim-wbemcli \
sblim-cmpi-base-test sblim-cmpi-base-devel sblim-cmpi-base aide ddd \
Canna-devel liberation-fonts Canna-libs mod_nss imlib2-devel imlib2 \
gstreamer-python openvpn qt4 qt4-postgresql qt4-odbc qt4-mysql qt4-devel \
qt4-sqlite qt4-doc blas-devel blas lapack lapack-devel \
perl-ExtUtils-ParseXS python-imaging-devel python-imaging \
python-setuptools gdk-pixbuf-devel gdk-pixbuf python-iniparse \
cyrus-imapd-utils cyrus-imapd-perl cyrus-imapd-devel cyrus-imapd \
yum-cron apmud
To save this new file, click on File -> Save As. In the box next to "Name" in the Save As... window, enter this:
/etc/yum.repos.d/fedora-extras.repo
And click on Save.
That's all you need to do in order to add the Fedora Core 6 Extras repository so its contents will show up when you use the Add/Remove programs feature.
We're going to add two more repositories in the same manner. Copy and paste the text below from your browser to your text editor window and use "Save As" to save the file under the name listed above the text.
/etc/yum.repos.d/livna-stable.repo
- Code: Select all
[livna-stable]
name=Livna for Fedora Core 6 - ppc - Base
baseurl=
http://rpm.livna.org/fedora/6/ppc/
http://livna.cat.pdx.edu/fedora/6/ppc/
http://wftp.tu-chemnitz.de/pub/linux/livna/fedora/6/ppc/
http://ftp-stud.fht-esslingen.de/pub/Mirrors/rpm.livna.org/fedora/6/ppc/
ftp://mirrors.tummy.com/pub/rpm.livna.org/fedora/6/ppc/
failovermethod=priority
#mirrorlist=http://rpm.livna.org/mirrorlist-6
enabled=1
gpgcheck=0
protect=0
exclude=livna-release
NOTE: The dribble repo listed below is currently not available as of 2/11/2012, so I've changed it to 'disabled' for now (enabled=0)
/etc/yum.repos.d/dribble.repo
- Code: Select all
[dribble]
name=Dribble for Fedora 7 - ppc
baseurl=http://dribble.org.uk/repo/7/ppc
enabled=0
protect=0
gpgcheck=0
We're done adding repos now, so you can close the gedit text editor window.
IMPORTANT -- DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!
Back on the terminal window, we need to install something called protectbase. This will prevent any repositories other than yellowdog-updates from replacing files from your yellowdog-base.repo when you update. This is easy to do -- just enter or copy/paste the following three commands to your terminal window (you still need root privileges):
- Code: Select all
yum install yum-protectbase
- Code: Select all
echo 'protect=1' >> /etc/yum.repos.d/yellowdog-base.repo
- Code: Select all
echo 'protect=1' >> /etc/yum.repos.d/yellowdog-updates.repo
- Code: Select all
echo 'protect=1' >> /etc/yum.repos.d/yellowdog-extras.repo
To confirm you have the new repos set up properly, enter this command:
- Code: Select all
yum repolist
The result should be:
- Code: Select all
repo id repo name status
base Yellow Dog Linux 6 Base enabled
dribble Dribble for Fedora 7 - ppc enabled
extras Yellow Dog Linux 6 Extras enabled
fedora-extras Fedora Extras enabled
livna-stable Livna.org Fedora Compatible Packages (st enabled
updates Yellow Dog Linux 6 Updates enabled
After that you can close the terminal window -- we're done!
Now you'll have many more applications available when you use the Add / Remove Programs feature in Yellow Dog. Select the menu item Applications -> System Tools -> Add/Remove Software. The "Retrieving software information" stage will now take longer to complete since it has more to do.
In some cases an RPM will call for a dependency not included in these or the yellowdog repos since they’re included in Fedora Core 6 base. In this case you can install the dependency directly from the Fedora Core 6 download server. (link corrected 2/25/09)
To do this, simply click on the link to the RPM you need to download it. Firefox should open a window asking how you want to open the file, with Software installer as the default selection. Click OK to confirm the selection.
When the download has completed, the Software Installer will ask you for your root password. Then a "Installing packages" window will open. Click on Apply. In a few moments it should say "Software installed successfully." Click OK.
As you can see, it's possible to install directly from a repository when necessary, but this is not the preferred method of doing things. Note the naming convention used by most RPM's:
name-version-release.distribution.architecture.rpm
name - The name of the application
version - The version of the application (as in development, debug, etc)
release - The release number of the application
distribution - The Linux distribution for which it was packaged (fc4, fc5, ydl, etc.)
architecture - The type of hardware for which it was compiled (x86, ppc, x86_64)
IMPORTANT NOTE:
There are other compatible repos you can use with Yellow Dog Linux, but it is possible for two repos to be incompatible with each other. Livna and FreshRPMs are said to be incompatible. While you might not see any immediate problem if you set up both, you will most likely run into problems later.
However, it is OK in some cases to install an RPM directly from zod (FC6) freshrpms. For example, click on "Choose a group to list" in the upper right corner and select "Emulators" to find the snes9 ppc.rpm.
If you're searching Google for an application, you need to know that you'll need one specifically for Power PC (ppc) architecture, preferably for Yellow Dog Linux (ydl) or Fedora Core 6 (fc6). It's possible that a package for Fedora 7 (fc7) may work fine, as in the case of mednafen found on Dribble. The Fedora 7 RPM for vice on Dribble does NOT work for Yellow Dog 6, however, so it is best to stick with the FC6 RPM for vice instead.
Complete Listing of repo files:
There seems to be some confusion about what repo files to use. In case you have somehow overwritten your original repo files or added incorrect ones, this list includes the 3 yellowdog repos included in the distribution, plus the 3 added in this guide.
EDIT: The listing now includes the default repos for YDL 6.0, 6.1, and 6.2. Make sure you use the correct repo setup for your install.
Yellow Dog 6.2
yellowdog-base.repo
- Code: Select all
[base]
name=Yellow Dog Linux 6.2 Base
mirrorlist=http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/resources/yd62-base-mlist
enabled=1
gpgcheck=0
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY
yellowdog-extras.repo
- Code: Select all
[extras]
name=Yellow Dog Linux 6.2 Extras
mirrorlist=http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/resources/yd62-extras-mlist
enabled=1
gpgcheck=0
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY
yellowdog-updates.repo
- Code: Select all
[updates]
name=Yellow Dog Linux 6.2 Updates
mirrorlist=http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/resources/yd62-updates-mlist
enabled=1
gpgcheck=0
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY
Yellow Dog 6.1
yellowdog-base.repo
- Code: Select all
[base]
name=Yellow Dog Linux 6.1 Base
mirrorlist=http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/resources/yd61-base-mlist
enabled=1
gpgcheck=0
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY
yellowdog-extras.repo
- Code: Select all
[extras]
name=Yellow Dog Linux 6.1 Extras
mirrorlist=http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/resources/yd61-extras-mlist
enabled=1
gpgcheck=0
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY
yellowdog-updates.repo
- Code: Select all
[updates]
name=Yellow Dog Linux 6.1 Updates
mirrorlist=http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/resources/yd61-updates-mlist
enabled=1
gpgcheck=0
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY
Yellow Dog 6.0:
yellowdog-base.repo
- Code: Select all
[base]
name=Yellow Dog Linux 6 Base
#baseurl=http://ftp.yellowdoglinux.com/pub/yellowdog/yum/6/base/
mirrorlist=http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/resources/yd6-base-mlist
enabled=1
gpgcheck=0
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY
yellowdog-extras.repo
- Code: Select all
[extras]
name=Yellow Dog Linux 6 Extras
#baseurl=http://ftp.yellowdoglinux.com/pub/yellowdog/yum/6/extras/
mirrorlist=http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/resources/yd6-extras-mlist
enabled=1
gpgcheck=0
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY
yellowdog-updates.repo
- Code: Select all
[updates]
name=Yellow Dog Linux 6 Updates
#baseurl=http://ftp.yellowdoglinux.com/pub/yellowdog/yum/6/updates/
mirrorlist=http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/resources/yd6-updates-mlist
enabled=1
gpgcheck=0
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY
THIRD PARTY:
fedora-extras.repo
- Code: Select all
[fedora-extras]
name=Fedora Extras
#mirrorlist=http://mirrors.fedoraproject.org/mirrorlist?repo=extras-6&arch=ppc
baseurl=http://archives.fedoraproject.org/pub/archive/fedora/linux/extras/6/ppc/
gpgcheck=0
enabled=1
protect=0
exclude=finch pidgin libpurple libpurple-perl libpurple-tcl pidgin-perl \
libpurple-devel finch-devel pidgin-devel libsmi libsmi-devel oddjob \
pyxdg lzo lzo-devel cvsps convmv nautilus-open-terminal gtk+ gtk+-devel \
perl-Pod-Escapes netlabel_tools freeglut-devel freeglut perl-Pod-Simple \
perl-PAR-Dist perl-ExtUtils-CBuilder keyutils-libs keyutils \
keyutils-libs-devel gnash scribus splint scribus-devel perl-YAML \
perl-Pod-Coverage conman gnash-plugin libibverbs oddjob-libs libhugetlbfs \
libibverbs-utils libibverbs-devel oddjob-devel asciidoc perl-Error exim \
glib tla mesa-libGLw mesa-libGLw-devel exim-doc hatari sblim-testsuite \
perl-Module-Build help2man perl-Test-Pod libmthca-devel libmthca git \
git-cvs git-gui git-svn git-arch git-email gitk perl-Git meanwhile-doc \
meanwhile-devel meanwhile Canna exim-mon perl-Test-Pod-Coverage glib-devel \
lsscsi sabayon-apply sabayon sblim-cmpi-devel sblim-wbemcli \
sblim-cmpi-base-test sblim-cmpi-base-devel sblim-cmpi-base aide ddd \
Canna-devel liberation-fonts Canna-libs mod_nss imlib2-devel imlib2 \
gstreamer-python openvpn qt4 qt4-postgresql qt4-odbc qt4-mysql qt4-devel \
qt4-sqlite qt4-doc blas-devel blas lapack lapack-devel \
perl-ExtUtils-ParseXS python-imaging-devel python-imaging \
python-setuptools gdk-pixbuf-devel gdk-pixbuf python-iniparse \
cyrus-imapd-utils cyrus-imapd-perl cyrus-imapd-devel cyrus-imapd \
yum-cron apmud
livna-stable.repo
- Code: Select all
[livna-stable]
name=Livna for Fedora Core 6 - ppc - Base
baseurl=
http://rpm.livna.org/fedora/6/ppc/
http://livna.cat.pdx.edu/fedora/6/ppc/
http://wftp.tu-chemnitz.de/pub/linux/livna/fedora/6/ppc/
http://ftp-stud.fht-esslingen.de/pub/Mirrors/rpm.livna.org/fedora/6/ppc/
ftp://mirrors.tummy.com/pub/rpm.livna.org/fedora/6/ppc/
failovermethod=priority
#mirrorlist=http://rpm.livna.org/mirrorlist-6
enabled=1
protect=0
gpgcheck=0
exclude=livna-release
dribble.repo
- Code: Select all
[dribble]
name=Dribble for Fedora 7 - ppc
baseurl=http://dribble.org.uk/repo/7/ppc
enabled=1
protect=0
gpgcheck=0