Where has PackMan put it?

I have used PackMan to download and install Python-38. Very nice. Then I used Packman to download and install Python-38-pip. Or at least that is what Packman was telling me. But where has it put it? I cannot find it anywhere, nor can I find anything in Packman to tell me. Is that not rather user-unfriendly? Can I presume that Packman will only download to the filing system that it resides in, and not try to put stuff in others?

For that, you’ll want to download something like grep…

…then you’ll have two things to look for. ;-)

Then I used Packman to download and install Python-38-pip. Or at least that is what Packman was telling me. But where has it put it?

Are you asking because you don’t know how to run it or for some other reason. Python38 has exacting installation requirements so it only lets you install it into the location its designed to be installed into.
Again nothing to do with PackMan.

Python-38-pip is a python module call pip. There is also a pip38 command used to run it. I believe it’s a separate package so it can be updated independently.

Ha. RTFM I say to myself. Looking at Advanced=>Paths… from Packman’s iconbar icon, I see that Packman is expecting the existence of all sorts of directories which do not exist on my filing system. Yet not a peep of complaint when I click buttons to download and install! Instead much apparent action, leading me to the belief that the goods had been downloaded and installed. That is hopeless. I quite understand that package installers need to share ownership of the would-be-downloader’s file system, but just keeping totally silent is hardly an adequate model for negotiation in those circumstances. Evidently, if I have managed to install anything with Packman, it has only been by chance. I suppose this must be why I shunned using it in the past.

I quite get the point that RISC OS is not Linux. Apart from $.!Boot everything in a RISC OS file-system is at the disposition of the user – or at least that is how matters started out. And of course this is not compatible with a package system, where the installer needs to know where resources are. And if there are two competing installers matters get far worse. I expect that all this has been thrashed out years ago – I apologize for touching on it again. But surely !Packman should be reminding the user that it expects to find certain directories, not just carrying on regardless?

But where has it put it?

Inside !Boot.Resources is a directory called !PythonSite, and pip is probably installed in there. It comprises quite a few different files: to see the exact structure that gets copied in, look inside the archive.

Thanks. I had just found it before seeing your reply :). My point is, why could not Packman have told me this while or after it was downloading?

Ha. RTFM I say to myself. Looking at Advanced=>Paths… from Packman’s iconbar icon, I see that Packman is expecting the existence of all sorts of directories which do not exist on my filing system. Yet not a peep of complaint when I click buttons to download and install! Instead much apparent action, leading me to the belief that the goods had been downloaded and installed. That is hopeless. I quite understand that package installers need to share ownership of the would-be-downloader’s file system, but just keeping totally silent is hardly an adequate model for negotiation in those circumstances. Evidently, if I have managed to install anything with Packman, it has only been by chance. I suppose this must be why I shunned using it in the past.

Can you explain why you think this has got anything to do with being able to install anything or not with PackMan.
Presumably you clicked on install to install Python. When it finished installing the ‘Installing/removing packages dialogue shows ’Done’.
That means it’s successfully installed. The rest of it is down to the person who created the packages how it’s installed and where.

It might help to have a more verbose option for installation via PackMan to assure folk.

It might help to have a more verbose option for installation via PackMan to assure folk.

There is a ‘Find File’ menu. Presuming you know what it is you are looking for and what it is when you’ve found it.

It is possible to add an action to the package which could pop up a help page explaining what’s been done and where once the package has been installed. That’s down to the person who creates the package.

There’s also a ‘Save Installed List’ that gives a high level view of what’s installed and where.

There’s also a ‘Save Installed List’ that gives a high level view of what’s installed and where.

So there is, a submenu of Advanced… Thanks. I had missed that.

I added an entry under the menu options for the package to list the files it installed in the last release of PackMan as this kind of question has been asked before. Does that help?

Looking at Advanced=>Paths… from Packman’s iconbar icon, I see that Packman is expecting the existence of all sorts of directories which do not exist on my filing system. Yet not a peep of complaint when I click buttons to download and install.

PackMan isn’t expecting those directories to exist. It’s telling you what it will create for the “logical” paths. If it failed to create a path and still said it installed OK then that would be a bug. It sounds as if the problem was you just weren’t sure where things went rather than they weren’t installed. I hope the rest of this thread helped you with this.

It sounds as if the problem was you just weren’t sure where things went rather than they weren’t installed.

I think you may be right. This thread has indeed helped me. It certainly would be nice to have a verbose mode which during installation said something like Installing component xxx in directory yyy. or something like that.