Non-Package Software Uninstaller

[Diogenes2025]

I just started using Debian jessie a week ago.

I'm about to install some non-package software (TeamSpeak3) that is not available through apt-get.

Is there any way to add this kind of software to the Synaptic Package Manager?

Failing that, is there any software that monitors and records non-package installations to make uninstallation easier?

[dasein]

I just started using Debian jessie a week ago.

I'm about to install some non-package software (TeamSpeak3) that is not available through apt-get.

Generally considered a Very Bad Idea, especially for a newbie. Can't speak to your specific application (maybe someone with knowledge of that app will chime in), but blindly installing packages from outside the official repos risks irreparable damage to your install.

See http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?&t=114130 and the "avoid a broken install" link in my sig.

[Ardouos]

I just started using Debian jessie a week ago.

I'm about to install some non-package software (TeamSpeak3) that is not available through apt-get.

Is there any way to add this kind of software to the Synaptic Package Manager?

Failing that, is there any software that monitors and records non-package installations to make uninstallation easier?

Teamspeak3 is great as you install it into your home directory and it does not conflict or inter-twine with any other libraries. I generally prefer Mumble though as it is free software and much more simplistic (which is in the repos).

Like Dasein said, it is a bad idea to blindly install foreign software that is not in the main repos, especially with the package manager. Even if package with Debian repos are directly compatible with Debian, an experienced user would even still need to keep a close eye to see what foreign packages/ conflicts may slip in.

If you are unsure about sources.list and external sources. Or you do not understand how installing packages work, you will need to do some homework. I helps to test and experiment in a virtual machine first until you learn more about Debian's package management and libraries.

[pendrachken]

I'm not aware of anything that can track self compiled programs you install in the way that you want. The closest would be to either build .debs, either through the Debian tools, or at the least checkinstall, and dpkg will track that they are installed.


Teamspeak on the other hand doesn't actually install from what I have seen, just unpacks static binaries to whatever directory it is in.


See here for a recent post on how to install teamspeak 3.x on Debian. Pay attention to creating the .desktop file if you want to be able to launch it from the start menu.

[oswaldkelso]

Why not use mumble? I use it and It has excellent sound quality and you can host your own server or use a free or cheap one.

http://wiki.mumble.info/wiki/Hosters

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn8bCd9n8j4

[stevepusser]

I'm not aware of anything that can track self compiled programs you install in the way that you want. The closest would be to either build .debs, either through the Debian tools, or at the least checkinstall, and dpkg will track that they are installed.


Teamspeak on the other hand doesn't actually install from what I have seen, just unpacks static binaries to whatever directory it is in.


See here for a recent post on how to install teamspeak 3.x on Debian. Pay attention to creating the .desktop file if you want to be able to launch it from the start menu.

A lot of quality FOSS software includes an "uninstall" target in the Makefile (or equivalent) that the user is supposed to use to reverse "make install". Even if the vast majority of these are good quality and will work, the user is still dependent on what the individual developer has for that uninstall target. Like you say, there's no system-level file tracker.

[pendrachken]

I'm not aware of anything that can track self compiled programs you install in the way that you want. The closest would be to either build .debs, either through the Debian tools, or at the least checkinstall, and dpkg will track that they are installed.


Teamspeak on the other hand doesn't actually install from what I have seen, just unpacks static binaries to whatever directory it is in.


See here for a recent post on how to install teamspeak 3.x on Debian. Pay attention to creating the .desktop file if you want to be able to launch it from the start menu.

A lot of quality FOSS software includes an "uninstall" target in the Makefile (or equivalent) that the user is supposed to use to reverse "make install". Even if the vast majority of these are good quality and will work, the user is still dependent on what the individual developer has for that uninstall target. Like you say, there's no system-level file tracker.

Yeah, the make uninstall targets are nice, but you have to keep the sources around forever if you want to use it, which can be a pain.
I prefer installing everything to /opt and /opt/$progname/{lib,etc,bin,usr}/ subdirs as much as possible when compiling from source, then you can just delete the program name sub directories if / when you want to get rid of it. This way it doesn't pollute your base system, and the path is shorter than the /usr/local/ subdirs that are also available.

[Diogenes2025]

Thank you all for the replies.

I use TeamSpeak because my online gaming buddies use it. I searched for an open source alternative client that would connect to a TS3 server, but I failed to find one.

I have learned how to edit the sources.list through Synaptic Package Manager and manually using xedit.