[hpoj-devel] hplip installation on Debian: which Debian?

[t t. <gam...@gm...>]

Not having heard back yet from Cory regarding the debugging output, I
decided to try hplip to see if it will get my scanner to finally work
again (though I am not sure that it will help at all since we don't
know what the cause of the problem is yet).  So I looked at
http://hpinkjet.sourceforge.net/install.php#debian_env.

The installation instructions specify several prerequisites, many of
which are -dev (development) versions.  After I installed them all, I
realized that the instructions do not give version numbers, or dates,
or which Debian they are referring to (Woody, Sarge,  Sid).

A development version on Woody could easily be different from the
development version on Sarge.  Perhaps Sarge users such as myself
should install the regular, non-"-dev" versions instead, and that that
might work better or avoid unexpected problems in the future.  (I'm
wary of future unexpected problems, since some upgrade or another made
my HP device useless to me, and it has been difficult finding a fix
for it or even what the cause of the problem is --
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=272304 and
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=283018 .)

Does anybody know which Debian we are supposed to assume here?  If not
Sarge, then which packages should be installed?  Please note that I
don't care about speed or ink levels or fax -- I care about basic ADF
functionality working again, and basic printing functionality
continuing to work (it works fine with hpijs and CUPS).

The instructions are oriented toward the printer (e.g. "Step 2:
Download and install the HP printing software").  Are we supposed to
assume that this also refers to scanning?  My printing works fine, and
I only want to try to install hplip in desperation to fix the ADF.

Finally, I'd be grateful if somebody with Debian experience could tell
me whether I should install in /usr/local as I do with small packages,
or whether I should do something with alien.  If the former, do I then
manually edit the /etc/init.d scripts?  I haven't looked at the
makefile yet, so I don't know whether "make install" will try to
overwrite Debian's sacrosanct /usr/bin and similar places.  If it
does, how do I make hplip uninstallable and/or upgradable when Debian
gets around to packaging it?

Please note that while some of these questions might be a Debian
beginner's questions, I have used Unix since 1984.  I do not fear any
aspect of command line level Unix/Linux, I like Debian, and I am not
afraid to use rudimentary apt tricks such as snapshot.debian.net or
/etc/apt/preferences to solve the problem.  I do, however, strongly
fear the very real possibility that even if I get this problem fixed
now, sometime later, perhaps after an upgrade, another arcane
sane/hplip/USB/SMP/kernel/driver bug will make my device useless
again.  I cannot debug problems at that level.  That, and not fear of
Unix or Debian-per-se, is the reason why I am so careful to ask how to
install hplip the Debian Way instead of barging forth with "make
install" as is written in the hplip instructions.  I am as comfortable
with Debian as I will be with any distribution.

Any tips are welcome.

Thanks.