David Linker wrote:
> Please excuse me if this is a FAQ, but I couldn't find it in the FAQ places.

have you looked through the docs on www.netbsd.org?  most package-related
questions are platform independent, and there is a bunch of documentation
on the package system on www.netbsd.org
 
> I have just successfully installed NetBSD 1.4 on an SE/30, but do not yet
> have either an ethernet card nor have I gotten ppp to function, so I have
> no internet connection. I do have another mac running macOS hooked up to
> the net, however, so I can download packages that way.

cool.
 
> The packages I download all end in tgz, so I assumed that they are tar'd
> and zipped, and that I could install them using the MacOS installer, just
> like I did for the original install. This seems to work, but when I tried
> to install and run pico, I get an error reporting a missing file, although
> the the documentation says that it is not dependent on any other files.
> 
> Is is possible to install packages using the MacOS installer? Can they
> function simply as ta'd files, and be untar'd?

do _not_ install these the normal way via the installer.  instead, use
'cpin' in the mini-shell to copy them into your netbsd partition, and then
use 'pkg-add' to add the new package.  i believe you simple do:

pkg-add /path/to/the/tgz/file

and it should set things up properly for you.  of course, i've
probably screwed up the name of the command, so you might want to
check the man page for it first.  please let us know if you have any
further problems.

later.

colin