Write Access

Suse Updates?

I have Suse Linux 10.0 and I want to know where the updates are stored during the download of the updates. Can I save these updates in a folder to allow other servers to get the updates from this one server?

Steve Johnson, by email

LM

YaST stores its RPMs in /var/lib/YaST2/you/mnt/, as long as the option "Delete packages after update" is deactivated. The directory can then be accessed via NFS. See: http://portal.suse.com/sdb/en/2002/08/mlasars_yousync.html

Perl Query

I enjoy reading your Perl column in Linux Magazine. I have tried to compile perl code to be executed on another computer that may be missing my libraries. I tried perlcc but had very little success. I wanted to try PAR. I am running Ubuntu 5.10.

  1. Is there any Debian package that contains the module?
  1. Using CPAN fails because many modules look for /usr/local/lib/perl... when I install perl modules with apt-get. The system does not use /usr/local/lib but /usr/lib.
  1. How complicated is it to install Perl and CPAN from source?
  1. How can I test different configurations without hurting my workstation installation?

Meir Michanie, by email

LM

Thanks for your comments on Mike Schilli's great Perl column. As for your specific questions:

  1. It looks like the correct deb package is: http://packages.debian.org/unstable/perl/libpar-perl
  1. It is surprising that you have a problem with the directory path. If you use 
    perl -MCPAN -eshell
  1. It is not complicated at all to install perl and CPAN from source.
  1. To test different configurations without hurting your workstation installation, you could install Perl at a different location, e.g.: 
    cd perl-x.x.x
./Configure -d -D prefix=/home/username/PERL

Then, if you use

/home/username/PERL/bin/perl -MCPAN -eshell

to install modules from CPAN, it will use the path under your home directory.

But if you run Ubuntu (which is Debian-based), the package installer should do the right thing.

Perl Ajax

In Michael Schilli's Perl article on Ajax, how does the Javascript snip.js actually do the GET request and pick up the response? There does not seem to be any reference to the XMLHttpRequest object from snip.js or tmp.html.

Mark Wheaton, by email

LM

When the CGI script on the web server sends back the response, the module injects the necessary JavaScript glue code to make the client/server communication work. If you point your browser to the snip URL, as shown in the article, you will see a line containing

return new XMLHttpRequest()

if you select View Source in your browser menu. It is in the surrounding JavaScript code that the magic happens.

Please send your comments and suggestions to letters@linux-magazine.com