Slackupdate V 0.7.1
===================

Description:
-----------
This script was written to keep a slackware system up to date with the
patches	directory of a given release.  This script should probably not
be used on a slackware-current system unless you really know what you
are doing.


Runlevels:
---------
There are 3 runlevels available. 0 and 1 are both safe and will not do
anything to your system.  2 can be dangerous depending on what you are
updating.

Levels:
 0 - Check for updates only
 1 - Check and download updates.
 2 - Update everything installed that has patches available


Supports:
--------
Slackware 8.1 - Current


Requirements:
------------
You need to have the following programs in path:
cat cp cut echo grep ls md5sum mkdir pwd rm rmdir sed sort tr wc which

You also need to have: /sbin/upgradepkg

(all of these should be on a slackware system by default)


Upgrading:
---------
Currently upgrading should only be performed on non-critical systems.  I
have done some testing and it works fairly well but still needs the user
to move changed files in /etc/rc.d to work properly.

At the moment, I would not recommend using this method to upgrade a system
unless you are prepared to fix/rebuild your system if it fails.

An example of upgrading to Slackware 10.2 would be done like so:
 # slackupdate.sh -r -l 1 -u slackware-10.2
 # slackupdate.sh -r -l 2 -u slackware-10.2

The example shows downloading the updates first.  Then installing them
in runlevel 2.  I recommend this because certain packages must be
upgraded in a certain order in order for an upgrade to work properly.
The order included in runlevel 2 is the safest one I have found so far.

The -r option has been added to both commands so that you do not
have to re-download all the packages again.  If some of the
packages do not download correctly then run the first command again.

After upgrading your system you will need to modify your rc.files and
possibly reconfigure your network again using netconfig.  If you try
to upgrade manually without using level 2 then make sure you run lilo
after you are finished so the new kernel will boot.


QUICK SETUP:
-----------
Put it anywhere.
Edit the Configuration section.
Run it.


Features:
--------
 - Multiple server support
 - Multiple Runlevel support
 - Auto update mode Runlevel 2 (root only, be careful)
 - Command line options for preferred server and runlevel
 - Command line option for more verbosity
 - Checks for newer versions of slackupdate script

Want to help develop this app?

Email me comments, suggestions, and changes rhunter[AT]vt[D0T]edu

slackupdate is Copyright (C) 2003 - 2005 by Rob Hunter <rhunter[AT]vt[D0T]edu>
Distributable under the terms of the GNU General Public License. For more
information please read the file COPYING which should have come with
the distribution.
