<linkhref="ch-software.en.html"rel="chapter"title="5 Software available in the Debian system">
<linkhref="ch-ftparchives.en.html"rel="chapter"title="6 The Debian FTP archives">
<linkhref="ch-pkg_basics.en.html"rel="chapter"title="7 Basics of the Debian package management system">
<linkhref="ch-pkgtools.en.html"rel="chapter"title="8 The Debian package management tools">
<linkhref="ch-uptodate.en.html"rel="chapter"title="9 Keeping your Debian system up-to-date">
<linkhref="ch-kernel.en.html"rel="chapter"title="10 Debian and the kernel">
<linkhref="ch-customizing.en.html"rel="chapter"title="11 Customizing your installation of Debian GNU/Linux">
<linkhref="ch-support.en.html"rel="chapter"title="12 Getting support for Debian GNU/Linux">
<linkhref="ch-contributing.en.html"rel="chapter"title="13 Contributing to the Debian Project">
<linkhref="ch-redistrib.en.html"rel="chapter"title="14 Redistributing Debian GNU/Linux in a commercial product">
<linkhref="ch-nexttime.en.html"rel="chapter"title="15 Changes expected in the next major release of Debian">
<linkhref="ch-faqinfo.en.html"rel="chapter"title="16 General information about the FAQ">
<linkhref="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-whatisfaq"rel="section"title="1.1 What is this FAQ?">
<linkhref="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-whatisdebian"rel="section"title="1.2 What is Debian GNU/Linux?">
<linkhref="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-linux"rel="section"title="1.3 OK, now I know what Debian is... what is Linux?!">
<linkhref="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-non-linux"rel="section"title="1.4 Does Debian just do GNU/Linux?">
<linkhref="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-difference"rel="section"title="1.5 What is the difference between Debian GNU/Linux and other Linux distributions? Why should I choose Debian over some other distribution?">
<linkhref="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-gnu"rel="section"title="1.6 How does the Debian project fit in or compare with the Free Software Foundation's GNU project?">
<linkhref="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-pronunciation"rel="section"title="1.7 How does one pronounce Debian and what does this word mean?">
<linkhref="ch-getting.en.html#s-version"rel="section"title="2.1 What is the latest version of Debian?">
<linkhref="ch-getting.en.html#s-updatestable"rel="section"title="2.2 Are there package upgrades in `stable'?">
<linkhref="ch-getting.en.html#s-boot-floppies"rel="section"title="2.3 Where/how can I get the Debian installation disks?">
<linkhref="ch-getting.en.html#s-cdrom"rel="section"title="2.4 How do I install the Debian from CD-ROMs?">
<linkhref="ch-getting.en.html#s-cdimage-symlinks"rel="section"title="2.5 Why does the official stable released CD-ROM contain symlinks for `frozen' and `unstable'? I thought this CD contains just `stable'!">
<linkhref="ch-getting.en.html#s-remoteinstall"rel="section"title="2.6 Can I get and install Debian directly from a remote Internet site?">
<linkhref="ch-getting.en.html#s-alternativebootinstaller"rel="section"title="2.7 Are there any alternative strategies for booting the system installer?">
<linkhref="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1"rel="section"title="3.1 Which Debian distribution (stable/testing/unstable) is better for me?">
<linkhref="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.2"rel="section"title="3.2 But what about Knoppix, Linex, Ubuntu, and others?">
<linkhref="ch-compat.en.html#s-arches"rel="section"title="4.1 On what hardware architectures/systems does Debian GNU/Linux run?">
<linkhref="ch-compat.en.html#s-otherdistribs"rel="section"title="4.2 How compatible is Debian with other distributions of Linux?">
<linkhref="ch-compat.en.html#s-otherunices"rel="section"title="4.3 How source code compatible is Debian with other Unix systems?">
<linkhref="ch-compat.en.html#s-otherpackages"rel="section"title="4.4 Can I use Debian packages (".deb" files) on my Red Hat/Slackware/... Linux system? Can I use Red Hat packages (".rpm" files) on my Debian GNU/Linux system?">
<linkhref="ch-compat.en.html#s-non-debian-programs"rel="section"title="4.5 How should I install a non-Debian program?">
<linkhref="ch-compat.en.html#s-termcap"rel="section"title="4.6 Why can't I compile programs that require libtermcap?">
<linkhref="ch-compat.en.html#s-accelx"rel="section"title="4.7 Why can't I install AccelX?">
<linkhref="ch-compat.en.html#s-motifnls"rel="section"title="4.8 Why do my old XFree 2.1 Motif applications crash?">
<linkhref="ch-software.en.html#s-apps"rel="section"title="5.1 What types of applications and development software are available for Debian GNU/Linux?">
<linkhref="ch-software.en.html#s-softwareauthors"rel="section"title="5.2 Who wrote all that software?">
<linkhref="ch-software.en.html#s-pkglist"rel="section"title="5.3 How can I get a current list of programs that have been packaged for Debian?">
<linkhref="ch-software.en.html#s-buildenv"rel="section"title="5.4 How can I install a developer's environment to build packages?">
<linkhref="ch-software.en.html#s-missing"rel="section"title="5.5 What is missing from Debian GNU/Linux?">
<linkhref="ch-software.en.html#s-no-devs"rel="section"title="5.6 Why do I get "ld: cannot find -lfoo" messages when compiling programs? Why aren't there any libfoo.so files in Debian library packages?">
<linkhref="ch-software.en.html#s-java"rel="section"title="5.7 (How) Does Debian support Java?">
<linkhref="ch-software.en.html#s-isitdebian"rel="section"title="5.8 How can I check that I am using a Debian system, and what version is it?">
<linkhref="ch-software.en.html#s-nonenglish"rel="section"title="5.9 How does Debian support non-English languages?">
<linkhref="ch-software.en.html#s-pine"rel="section"title="5.10 Where is pine?">
<linkhref="ch-software.en.html#s-qmail"rel="section"title="5.11 Where is qmail/ezmlm/djbdns?">
<linkhref="ch-software.en.html#s-flash"rel="section"title="5.12 Where is a player for Flash (SWF)?">
<linkhref="ch-software.en.html#s-googleearth"rel="section"title="5.13 Where is Google Earth?">
<linkhref="ch-software.en.html#s-voip"rel="section"title="5.14 Where is VoIP software?">
<linkhref="ch-software.en.html#s-nonfreewireless"rel="section"title="5.15 I have a wireless network card which doesn't work with Linux. What should I do?">
<linkhref="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-dists"rel="section"title="6.1 How many Debian distributions are there?">
<linkhref="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-codenames"rel="section"title="6.2 What are all those names like etch, lenny, etc.?">
<linkhref="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-sid"rel="section"title="6.3 What about "sid"?">
<linkhref="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-stable"rel="section"title="6.4 What does the stable directory contain?">
<linkhref="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-testing"rel="section"title="6.5 What does the testing distribution contain?">
<linkhref="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-unstable"rel="section"title="6.6 What does the unstable distribution contain?">
<linkhref="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-dirtree"rel="section"title="6.7 What are all those directories at the Debian FTP archives?">
<linkhref="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-archsections"rel="section"title="6.8 What are all those directories inside <samp>dists/stable/main</samp>?">
<linkhref="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-source"rel="section"title="6.9 Where is the source code?">
<linkhref="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-pools"rel="section"title="6.10 What's in the <samp>pool</samp> directory?">
<linkhref="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-incoming"rel="section"title="6.11 What is "incoming"?">
<linkhref="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-ownrepository"rel="section"title="6.12 How do I set up my own apt-able repository?">
<linkhref="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-package"rel="section"title="7.1 What is a Debian package?">
<linkhref="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-deb-format"rel="section"title="7.2 What is the format of a Debian binary package?">
<linkhref="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-pkgname"rel="section"title="7.3 Why are Debian package file names so long?">
<linkhref="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-controlfile"rel="section"title="7.4 What is a Debian control file?">
<linkhref="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-conffile"rel="section"title="7.5 What is a Debian conffile?">
<linkhref="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-maintscripts"rel="section"title="7.6 What is a Debian preinst, postinst, prerm, and postrm script?">
<linkhref="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-priority"rel="section"title="7.7 What is an <em>Essential</em>, <em>Required</em>, <em>Important</em>, <em>Standard</em>, <em>Optional</em>, or <em>Extra</em> package?">
<linkhref="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-virtual"rel="section"title="7.8 What is a Virtual Package?">
<linkhref="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-depends"rel="section"title="7.9 What is meant by saying that a package <em>Depends</em>, <em>Recommends</em>, <em>Suggests</em>, <em>Conflicts</em>, <em>Replaces</em> or <em>Provides</em> another package?">
<linkhref="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-pre-depends"rel="section"title="7.10 What is meant by Pre-Depends?">
<linkhref="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-pkgstatus"rel="section"title="7.11 What is meant by <em>unknown</em>, <em>install</em>, <em>remove</em>, <em>purge</em> and <em>hold</em> in the package status?">
<linkhref="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-puttingonhold"rel="section"title="7.12 How do I put a package on hold?">
<linkhref="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-sourcepkgs"rel="section"title="7.13 How do I install a source package?">
<linkhref="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-sourcebuild"rel="section"title="7.14 How do I build binary packages from a source package?">
<linkhref="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-creatingdebs"rel="section"title="7.15 How do I create Debian packages myself?">
<linkhref="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-pkgprogs"rel="section"title="8.1 What programs does Debian provide for managing its packages?">
<linkhref="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-updaterunning"rel="section"title="8.2 Debian claims to be able to update a running program; how is this accomplished?">
<linkhref="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-whatpackages"rel="section"title="8.3 How can I tell what packages are already installed on a Debian system?">
<linkhref="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-listfiles"rel="section"title="8.4 How to display the files of a package installed?">
<linkhref="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-filesearch"rel="section"title="8.5 How can I find out what package produced a particular file?">
<linkhref="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-datapackages"rel="section"title="8.6 Why doesn't get `foo-data' removed when I uninstall `foo'? How do I make sure old unused library-packages get purged?">
<linkhref="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-howtocurrent"rel="section"title="9.1 How can I keep my Debian system current?">
<linkhref="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-upgradesingle"rel="section"title="9.2 Must I go into single user mode in order to upgrade a package?">
<linkhref="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-savedebs"rel="section"title="9.3 Do I have to keep all those .deb archive files on my disk?">
<linkhref="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-keepingalog"rel="section"title="9.4 How can I keep a log of the packages I added to the system? I'd like to know when which package upgrades and removals have occured!">
<linkhref="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-autoupdate"rel="section"title="9.5 Can I automatically update the system?">
<linkhref="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-aptproxy"rel="section"title="9.6 I have several machines how can I download the updates only one time?">
<linkhref="ch-kernel.en.html#s-non-debian-kernel"rel="section"title="10.1 Can I install and compile a kernel without some Debian-specific tweaking?">
<linkhref="ch-kernel.en.html#s-customkernel"rel="section"title="10.2 What tools does Debian provide to build custom kernels?">
<linkhref="ch-kernel.en.html#s-custombootdisk"rel="section"title="10.3 How can I make a custom boot floppy?">
<linkhref="ch-kernel.en.html#s-modules"rel="section"title="10.4 What special provisions does Debian provide to deal with modules?">
<linkhref="ch-kernel.en.html#s-removeoldkernel"rel="section"title="10.5 Can I safely de-install an old kernel package, and if so, how?">
<linkhref="ch-customizing.en.html#s-papersize"rel="section"title="11.1 How can I ensure that all programs use the same paper size?">
<linkhref="ch-customizing.en.html#s-hardwareaccess"rel="section"title="11.2 How can I provide access to hardware peripherals, without compromising security?">
<linkhref="ch-customizing.en.html#s-consolefont"rel="section"title="11.3 How do I load a console font on startup the Debian way?">
<linkhref="ch-customizing.en.html#s-appdefaults"rel="section"title="11.4 How can I configure an X11 program's application defaults?">
<linkhref="ch-customizing.en.html#s-booting"rel="section"title="11.5 Every distribution seems to have a different boot-up method. Tell me about Debian's.">
<linkhref="ch-customizing.en.html#s-custombootscripts"rel="section"title="11.6 It looks as if Debian does not use <samp>rc.local</samp> to customize the boot process; what facilities are provided?">
<linkhref="ch-customizing.en.html#s-interconffiles"rel="section"title="11.7 How does the package management system deal with packages that contain configuration files for other packages?">
<linkhref="ch-customizing.en.html#s-divert"rel="section"title="11.8 How do I override a file installed by a package, so that a different version can be used instead?">
<linkhref="ch-customizing.en.html#s-localpackages"rel="section"title="11.9 How can I have my locally-built package included in the list of available packages that the package management system knows about?">
<linkhref="ch-customizing.en.html#s-diverse"rel="section"title="11.10 Some users like mawk, others like gawk; some like vim, others like elvis; some like trn, others like tin; how does Debian support diversity?">
<linkhref="ch-support.en.html#s-debiandocs"rel="section"title="12.1 What other documentation exists on and for a Debian system?">
<linkhref="ch-support.en.html#s-onlineresources"rel="section"title="12.2 Are there any on-line resources for discussing Debian?">
<linkhref="ch-support.en.html#s-searchtools"rel="section"title="12.3 Is there a quick way to search for information on Debian GNU/Linux?">
<linkhref="ch-support.en.html#s-buglogs"rel="section"title="12.4 Are there logs of known bugs?">
<linkhref="ch-support.en.html#s-bugreport"rel="section"title="12.5 How do I report a bug in Debian?">
<linkhref="ch-contributing.en.html#s-contrib"rel="section"title="13.1 How can I become a Debian software developer?">
<linkhref="ch-contributing.en.html#s-contribresources"rel="section"title="13.2 How can I contribute resources to the Debian project?">
<linkhref="ch-contributing.en.html#s-supportingorganizations"rel="section"title="13.3 How can I contribute financially to the Debian project?">
<linkhref="ch-redistrib.en.html#s-sellcds"rel="section"title="14.1 Can I make and sell Debian CDs?">
<linkhref="ch-redistrib.en.html#s-packagednonfree"rel="section"title="14.2 Can Debian be packaged with non-free software?">
<linkhref="ch-redistrib.en.html#s-childistro"rel="section"title="14.3 I am making a special Linux distribution for a "vertical market". Can I use Debian GNU/Linux for the guts of a Linux system and add my own applications on top of it?">
<linkhref="ch-redistrib.en.html#s-commercialdebs"rel="section"title="14.4 Can I put my commercial program in a Debian "package" so that it installs effortlessly on any Debian system?">
<linkhref="ch-nexttime.en.html#s-i18n"rel="section"title="15.1 Extended support for non-English users">
<linkhref="ch-nexttime.en.html#s-dependencybasedboot"rel="section"title="15.2 Faster booting: Dependency based boot sequence">
<linkhref="ch-nexttime.en.html#s-di"rel="section"title="15.3 Improvements in the Debian Installer">
<linkhref="ch-nexttime.en.html#s-morearches"rel="section"title="15.4 More architectures">
<linkhref="ch-nexttime.en.html#s-morekernels"rel="section"title="15.5 More kernels">
<linkhref="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.1"rel="subsection"title="3.1.1 You asked me to install stable, but in stable so and so hardware is not detected/working. What should I do?">
<linkhref="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.2"rel="subsection"title="3.1.2 Will there be different different versions of packages in different distributions?">
<linkhref="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.3"rel="subsection"title="3.1.3 The stable distributions really contains outdated packages. Just look at Kde, Gnome, Xorg or even the kernel. They are very old. Why is it so?">
<linkhref="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.4"rel="subsection"title="3.1.4 If I were to decide to change to another distribution, Can I do that?">
<linkhref="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.5"rel="subsection"title="3.1.5 Could you tell me whether to install testing or unstable?">
<linkhref="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.6"rel="subsection"title="3.1.6 You are talking about testing being broken. What do you mean by that?">
<linkhref="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.7"rel="subsection"title="3.1.7 Why is it that testing could be broken for months? Wont the fixes introduced in unstable flow directly down into testing?">
<linkhref="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.8"rel="subsection"title="3.1.8 From an administrator's point of view, Which distribution requires more attention?">
<linkhref="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.9"rel="subsection"title="3.1.9 What happens when a new release is made?">
<linkhref="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.10"rel="subsection"title="3.1.10 I have a working Desktop/cluster with Debian installed. How do I know which distribution I am running?">
<linkhref="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.11"rel="subsection"title="3.1.11 I am currently tracking stable. Can I change to testing or unstable? If so, How?">
<linkhref="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.12"rel="subsection"title="3.1.12 I am currently tracking testing (lenny). What will happen when a release is made? Will I still be tracking testing or will my machine be running the new stable distribution?">
<linkhref="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.13"rel="subsection"title="3.1.13 I am still confused. What did you say I should install?">
<linkhref="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.2.1"rel="subsection"title="3.2.1 I know that Knoppix/Linex/Ubuntu/... is Debian-based. So after installing it on the hard disk, can I use 'apt' package tools on it?">
<linkhref="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.2.2"rel="subsection"title="3.2.2 I installed Knoppix/Linex/Ubuntu/... on my hard disk. Now I have a problem. What should I do?">
<linkhref="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.2.3"rel="subsection"title="3.2.3 I'm using Knoppix/Linex/Ubuntu/... and now I want to use Debian. How do I migrate?">
<linkhref="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-oldcodenames"rel="subsection"title="6.2.1 Which other codenames have been used in the past?">
<linkhref="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-sourceforcodenames"rel="subsection"title="6.2.2 Where do these codenames come from?">
<linkhref="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-frozen"rel="subsection"title="6.5.1 What about "testing"? How is it `frozen'?">
<h2><aname="s-otherunices"></a>4.3 How source code compatible is Debian with other Unix systems?</h2>
<p>
For most applications Linux source code is compatible with other Unix systems.
It supports almost everything that is available in System V Unix systems and
the free and commercial BSD-derived systems. However in the Unix business such
claim has nearly no value because there is no way to prove it. In the software
development area complete compatibility is required instead of compatibility in
"about most" cases. So years ago the need for standards arose, and
nowadays POSIX.1 (IEEE Standard 1003.1-1990) is one of the major standards for
source code compatibility in Unix-like operating systems.
</p>
<p>
Linux is intended to adhere to POSIX.1, but the POSIX standards cost real money
and the POSIX.1 (and FIPS 151-2) certification is quite expensive; this made it
more difficult for the Linux developers to work on complete POSIX conformance.
The certification costs make it unlikely that Debian will get an official
conformance certification even if it completely passed the validation suite.
(The validation suite is now freely available, so it is expected that more
people will work on POSIX.1 issues.)
</p>
<p>
Unifix GmbH (Braunschweig, Germany) developed a Linux system that has been
certified to conform to FIPS 151-2 (a superset of POSIX.1). This technology
was available in Unifix' own distribution called Unifix Linux 2.0 and in
Lasermoon's Linux-FT.
</p>
<hr>
<h2><aname="s-otherpackages"></a>4.4 Can I use Debian packages (".deb" files) on my Red Hat/Slackware/... Linux system? Can I use Red Hat packages (".rpm" files) on my Debian GNU/Linux system?</h2>
<p>
Different Linux distributions use different package formats and different
package management programs.
</p>
<dl>
<dt><strong>You probably can:</strong></dt>
<dd>
<p>
A program to unpack a Debian package onto a Linux host that is been built from
a `foreign' distribution is available, and will generally work, in the sense
that files will be unpacked. The converse is probably also true, that is, a
program to unpack a Red Hat or Slackware package on a host that is based on
Debian GNU/Linux will probably succeed in unpacking the package and placing
most files in their intended directories. This is largely a consequence of the
existence (and broad adherence to) the Linux Filesystem Hierarchy Standard.
The <code><ahref="http://packages.debian.org/alien">Alien</a></code> package
is used to convert between different package formats.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><strong>You probably do not want to:</strong></dt>
<dd>
<p>
Most package managers write administrative files when they are used to unpack
an archive. These administrative files are generally not standardized.
Therefore, the effect of unpacking a Debian package on a `foreign' host will
have unpredictable (certainly not useful) effects on the package manager on
that system. Likewise, utilities from other distributions might succeed in
unpacking their archives on Debian systems, but will probably cause the Debian
package management system to fail when the time comes to upgrade or remove some
packages, or even simply to report exactly what packages are present on a
system.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><strong>A better way:</strong></dt>
<dd>
<p>
The Linux File System Standard (and therefore Debian GNU/Linux) requires that
subdirectories under <samp>/usr/local/</samp> be entirely under the user's
discretion. Therefore, users can unpack `foreign' packages into this
directory, and then manage their configuration, upgrade and removal
individually.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<hr>
<h2><aname="s-non-debian-programs"></a>4.5 How should I install a non-Debian program?</h2>
<p>
Files under the directory <samp>/usr/local/</samp> are not under the control of
the Debian package management system. Therefore, it is good practice to place
the source code for your program in /usr/local/src/. For example, you might
extract the files for a package named "foo.tar" into the directory
<samp>/usr/local/src/foo</samp>. After you compile them, place the binaries in
<samp>/usr/local/bin/</samp>, the libraries in <samp>/usr/local/lib/</samp>,
and the configuration files in <samp>/usr/local/etc/</samp>.
</p>
<p>
If your programs and/or files really must be placed in some other directory,
you could still store them in <samp>/usr/local/</samp>, and build the
appropriate symbolic links from the required location to its location in
<samp>/usr/local/</samp>, e.g., you could make the link
</p>
<pre>
ln -s /usr/local/bin/foo /usr/bin/foo
</pre>
<p>
In any case, if you obtain a package whose copyright allows redistribution, you
should consider making a Debian package of it, and uploading it for the Debian
system. Guidelines for becoming a package developer are included in the Debian
Policy manual (see <ahref="ch-support.en.html#s-debiandocs">What other
documentation exists on and for a Debian system?, Section 12.1</a>).
</p>
<hr>
<h2><aname="s-termcap"></a>4.6 Why can't I compile programs that require libtermcap?</h2>
<p>
Debian uses the <samp>terminfo</samp> database and the <samp>ncurses</samp>
library of terminal interface routes, rather than the <samp>termcap</samp>
database and the <samp>termcap</samp> library. Users who are compiling
programs that require some knowledge of the terminal interface should replace
references to <samp>libtermcap</samp> with references to
<samp>libncurses</samp>.
</p>
<p>
To support binaries that have already been linked with the <samp>termcap</samp>
library, and for which you do not have the source, Debian provides a package
called <code>termcap-compat</code>. This provides both
<samp>libtermcap.so.2</samp> and <samp>/etc/termcap</samp>. Install this
package if the program fails to run with the error message "can't load
library 'libtermcap.so.2'", or complains about a missing
<samp>/etc/termcap</samp> file.
</p>
<hr>
<h2><aname="s-accelx"></a>4.7 Why can't I install AccelX?</h2>
<p>
AccelX uses the <samp>termcap</samp> library for installation. See <a
href="#s-termcap">Why can't I compile programs that require libtermcap?,
Section 4.6</a> above.
</p>
<hr>
<h2><aname="s-motifnls"></a>4.8 Why do my old XFree 2.1 Motif applications crash?</h2>
<p>
You need to install the <code>motifnls</code> package, which provides the
XFree-2.1 configuration files needed to allow Motif applications compiled under
XFree-2.1 to run under XFree-3.1.
</p>
<p>
Without these files, some Motif applications compiled on other machines (such
as Netscape) may crash when attempting to copy or paste from or to a text
