Debian had binary packages with dependencies via dpkg from maybe 1994. Automatic recursive downloads, with apt (apt-get) were much later, around 1998. Rpm was launched in 1997.
It's hard to remember really, but automatic downloads would have been considered quite a misfeature by lots of user sites, in an era of intermittent, metered internet connections.
It's hard to remember really, but automatic downloads would have been considered quite a misfeature by lots of user sites, in an era of intermittent, metered internet connections.