download FAQ

  1. I downloaded the foo.bar binary package and didn't find any source. Where do I get the foo.bar source?

    You need to download the corresponding source package. Source packages contain generic source that builds on all architectures.

  2. Why don't you post binaries for the foo.bar architecture.

    With few exceptions we only post binary packages for architectures that we have direct login access to. If your foo.bar isn't on our list we'll be happy to assist you in getting the source package built on it.

  3. Why don't you have an ftp download site like everyone else?

    Even though the packages are licensed as Open Source, our legal department requires that each download recipient provably accept the associated license(s) before downloading. See Specht vs. Netscape for details on manifestation of agreement with respect to software downloads. HTTP provides the hooks we need for the manifestation of agreement, FTP does not.

    We mainly need to protect our pockets from liability claims based on "what license?". Since the packages are Open Source, a 3rd party site, not affiliated with the original providers, can accept the license on our site, download the packages, and then post the packages on their site, still under the original license, but using whatever form of license acceptance they are comfortable with -- at that point we are out of the liability loop.

  4. gunzip says the archive files I downloaded are corrupt.

    The archive files are given the application/octet-stream mime type on the server side, but sometimes text translation is still applied. Compare the archive size with the size posted in the download selection list. If your copy is a few hundred bytes larger then your browser probably did a text transfer (with \n => \r\n translation) instead of a binary transfer. Make sure the browser download does a binary transfer.

    Some browsers automatically apply gunzip, so check if the file is already uncompressed. This has happened on some .gz standalone package downloads.


January 10, 2005