Swaret

Swaret is a software updating tool for the Slackware Linux distribution. It is covered under the GPL license, and it has several features that make it unique (library dependency detection & rollback capability). It can be downloaded from Sourceforge.

Rather than use version numbers, swaret synchronizes with whatever version of the software is on the Slackware mirror.

To install swaret: First, you must download the package. You can go to downloads and download the latest stable version. After downloading the package, type the following commands, replacing <FILENAME> with the package name (example, swaret-1.6.2-noarch-1.tgz) and <VERSION> with the version you want to upgrade to (example, current or 10.0):

installpkg <FILENAME>
swaret --set VERSION=<VERSION>
swaret --update
swaret --upgrade

This must all be done under the root account using su or under your own account via sudo.

To use swaret to install a program (use the root account):

• open a console
• update the database

updatedb

• update the swaret database

swaret --update -a

• install the program

swaret --install <program name>

You will then see swaret download and install the program, checking any dependencies and installing them.

A similar method is used to upgrade a program, except you use --upgrade in place of --install.

Using -a in place of a program name will cause swaret to upgrade all of the packages on your system.