The Main Menu

The Main Menu

The Main menu contains all commands that are needed to install and remove software. When the Main menu is displayed, Inst posts this prompt to accept command entries:

Inst>

Changing the Distribution Source

Inst always assumes that the installation target is the system where it is running. Inst selects a default distribution source, which is either the distribution source of the previous installation (during live installations) or local CD-ROM (during miniroot installations). You can specify a different distribution source using the from command.

Viewing the Software Inventory

The list command displays an inventory of the software on either the distribution or the target system. Displaying software inventories early in a session is helpful in deciding what software to install or remove. By default, the output of list displays the shortnames of subsystems in the distribution inventory, their size and description, and selection and installation information.

Using the view command, you can toggle the list command so that it displays either the distribution or the target inventory. The view command also focuses list output on different levels of the product hierarchy, so that you can display information about images or entire products. You can also use view to filter certain information from list displays.

Selecting and Installing Software

You can install the preliminary installation selections that Inst makes during initialization or change the selections before launching an installation. The install command selects items in the distribution inventory for installation; the remove command selects items on the target inventory for removal. The keep command selects items on either list for which no action should be taken. A special selection command, step, allows you to list and select software at the same time.

You can change selections as many times as necessary, so long as you do not issue the go command, which launches the installation.The go command initiates the installation and removal of software that you specified in your selections.

Handling Conflicts

Sometimes, the selections that you make for installation or removal cause conflicts. For example, a conflict occurs when you select two incompatible subsystems for installation, or when you select a subsystem for installation and do not select its prerequisites. When conflicts occur, the go command does not execute, and Inst posts a conflict advisory that suggests a resolution to the conflict.

When you see a conflicts advisory, you can either use the conflicts command to accept one of the suggested resolutions or use the install and remove commands to change your selections. You also see an advisory if your selections require more disk space than is safely available. This condition requires that you change your selections or remove software from the target system.

Ending a Session

To end an Inst session, enter the quit command. When you quit an installation session, Inst performs clean-up operations on target filesystems and on the newly installed software.