I first tried Yumex and the somewhat similar software management tool, easyLife years ago when I wanted to try out an RPM-based distribution. Between the two managers, easyLife was more successful at doing what I needed at the time - that is, install codecs, Flash and Java without having to collect all the sources and repositories. Yumex back then crashed and since then I've had little luck with either software managers, depending instead on the command line.
Since 2006, an explosion of GUI based software managers have appeared in mainstream Linux distributions such as Ubuntu and openSUSE. Lovable Synaptic Package Manager has stepped aside for the divisive Ubuntu Software Center and similar derivatives found in Lubuntu and Linux Mint. Even openSUSE, with its excellent Yast, now includes the buggy Apper. Mageia, which is the continuation of the once well-loved Mandriva distribution in spirit, thankfully stuck to its Control Center but even FreeBSD-derived PC-BSD has a competent GUI software manager, AppCafe. Fedora, despite its reputation for being cutting-edge, never really revolutionized their package management and still retains the occasionally dubious PackageKit frontend.
With this in mind, I looked at Yumex with askance after installing a fresh copy of Fedora 18 Xfce on my ASUS EEEPC 1000H. My gut instinct was to immediately uninstall Yumex like I normally do with openSUSE's Apper. My most recent experience with Yumex involved Yumex locking up yum on the command line (this could be resolved by rebooting the system and uninstalling yumex). However, this encounter occurred a year ago and development in the open source community can be fast especially with projects such as Yumex and easyLife, which cater to a very specific niche of users. I was fully prepared to reinstall Fedora if the system crashed anyway.
Yumex at Work
Yumex was a surprise and the overall experience extremely pleasant. Unlike Ubuntu's glossy Ubuntu Software Center, Yumex has a verbose command line display running in the background, which is in many ways comforting to users. It isn't hobbled by application icons, user reviews, or screenshots, but like Debian's Synaptic Package Manager, provides concise descriptions of packages, dependencies, and features. I kept expecting it to crash as it loaded or as I searched for packages but it didn't. In fact, I found it faster and more dependable than Apper. The old Mandriva package manager used to have repository issues when you added a new repository using the GUI, but no such issues occurred with Yumex. To my surprise, I realized Yumex aligned perfectly with Xfce's design principles.
To test Yumex, I ran the following the tasks:
- I started off by installing fairly small applications such as Cherrytree (for note-taking) and Grsync (for backups). No issues.
- Exiting Yumex, I ran Yum-update from the Terminal. Unlike my previous experience with Yumex, the yum command did not lock up.
- After a 700MB+ update and a reboot, I added the RPM Fusion repositories using the Terminal and ran Yumex to check if it would automatically refresh the packages. At this point after a huge Fedora update, it's fully conceivable that Yumex might have issues. Yumex instead launched with nary a complaint, refreshed packages, and I went on to install Evince to display documents, VLC, and SMPlayer.
- Like Apper in openSUSE, all downloaded RPM's in Fedora 18 Xfce are handled by Yumex by default. It wasn't exactly something I was comfortable with but I was encouraged by Yumex's success with updates and dependencies so downloaded RPMs for Skype for Linux, Adobe Flash, and the last version of Adobe Reader for Linux. Surprise! It all installed fine.
- I disconnected from the network and launched Yumex while offline. Yumex will ask if you want to continue despite not being connected to a network. Yumex crashed but only once after I attempted to search for Anjuta, an IDE for Gnome that was installed as part of dependencies to support an iOS device. While offline, I removed Claws Mail, Liferea, Pidgin, and Skype for Linux (which didn't run properly). The packages were uninstalled without issues.
Some Tips and general impressions
Yum Extender, like most Linux applications these days, is very user friendly though there are aspects that may briefly confuse users. Radio buttons are available for Updates, Available, Installed, All, Groups, and Categories. When removing applications, select Installed from the filter list and then search for the packages. Select the packages you wish to remove from the search results.A red circle with an X will mark packages to be removed. To reinstall packages, right-click a selected package and click Reinstall. Click the Pending icon on the left panel to see a list of tasks to be executed if you've lost track of the packages you intend to remove/install.
Yumex also has a running history of installed applications which can be sorted using time and date. The Repositories window provides a list of currently available repositories on your system, which you can enable/disable permanently. I was happy to see the option Clean all was also available in the context options.
I only used Yumex to install applications post-fresh install of Fedora 18 and it will take awhile just to see how stable Yumex is as time goes by. I will say that I was very impressed with the stability and usability of the utility, much more so than easyLife, which tends to go overboard with package installation. I would go so far as to say that it's much more user friendly than the classic Synaptic Package Manager, though a lot less powerful. Moreover, the combination of the GUI and text-based interface makes it faster and less cumbersome than more contemporary package managers such as Ubuntu Software Center, AppCafe, and Apper. For the long-time Fedora user, Yumex still doesn't replace using yum on the command line but it certainly makes basic tasks like removing and installing packages easier for the novice user - which is exactly what Yumex was designed to do.
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