available.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
- <varlistentry><term><option>dselect-upgrade</option></term>
- <listitem><para><literal>dselect-upgrade</literal>
- is used in conjunction with the traditional Debian packaging
- front-end, &dselect;. <literal>dselect-upgrade</literal>
- follows the changes made by &dselect; to the <literal>Status</literal>
- field of available packages, and performs the actions necessary to realize
- that state (for instance, the removal of old and the installation of new
- packages).</para></listitem>
- </varlistentry>
-
<varlistentry><term><option>dist-upgrade</option></term>
<listitem><para><literal>dist-upgrade</literal> in addition to performing the function of
<literal>upgrade</literal>, also intelligently handles changing dependencies
with new versions of packages; <command>apt-get</command> has a "smart" conflict
resolution system, and it will attempt to upgrade the most important
packages at the expense of less important ones if necessary.
- So, <literal>dist-upgrade</literal> command may remove some packages.
+ The <literal>dist-upgrade</literal> command may therefore remove some packages.
The <filename>/etc/apt/sources.list</filename> file contains a list of locations
from which to retrieve desired package files.
See also &apt-preferences; for a mechanism for
overriding the general settings for individual packages.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
+ <varlistentry><term><option>dselect-upgrade</option></term>
+ <listitem><para><literal>dselect-upgrade</literal>
+ is used in conjunction with the traditional Debian packaging
+ front-end, &dselect;. <literal>dselect-upgrade</literal>
+ follows the changes made by &dselect; to the <literal>Status</literal>
+ field of available packages, and performs the actions necessary to realize
+ that state (for instance, the removal of old and the installation of new
+ packages).</para></listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
<varlistentry><term><option>install</option></term>
<listitem>
<para><literal>install</literal> is followed by one or more
packages desired for installation or upgrading.
Each package is a package name, not a fully qualified
filename (for instance, in a Debian system,
- libc6 would be the argument provided, not
- <literal>libc6_1.9.6-2.deb</literal>). All packages required
+ <package>apt-utils</package> would be the argument provided, not
+ <filename>apt-utils_&apt-product-version;_amd64.deb</filename>). All packages required
by the package(s) specified for installation will also
be retrieved and installed.
The <filename>/etc/apt/sources.list</filename> file is
<varlistentry><term><option>remove</option></term>
<listitem><para><literal>remove</literal> is identical to <literal>install</literal> except that packages are
- removed instead of installed. Note the removing a package leaves its
- configuration files in system. If a plus sign is appended to the package
+ removed instead of installed. Note that removing a package leaves its
+ configuration files on the system. If a plus sign is appended to the package
name (with no intervening space), the identified package will be
installed instead of removed.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<literal>pkg/release</literal> syntax, if possible.</para>
<para>Source packages are tracked separately
- from binary packages via <literal>deb-src</literal> type lines
+ from binary packages via <literal>deb-src</literal> lines
in the &sources-list; file. This means that you will need to add such a line
- for each repository you want to get sources from. If you don't do this
- you will properly get another (newer, older or none) source version than
- the one you have installed or could install.</para>
+ for each repository you want to get sources from; otherwise you will probably
+ get either the wrong (too old/too new) source versions or none at all.</para>
<para>If the <option>--compile</option> option is specified
then the package will be compiled to a binary .deb using
used for the package files. This enables exact matching of the source
package name and version, implicitly enabling the
<literal>APT::Get::Only-Source</literal> option.</para>
-
- <para>Note that source packages are not tracked like binary packages, they
- exist only in the current directory and are similar to downloading source
- tar balls.</para></listitem>
+
+ <para>Note that source packages are not installed and tracked in the
+ <command>dpkg</command> database like binary packages; they are simply downloaded
+ to the current directory, like source tarballs.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry><term><option>build-dep</option></term>
<listitem><para><literal>changelog</literal> downloads a package changelog and displays
it through <command>sensible-pager</command>. The server name and base
directory is defined in the <literal>APT::Changelogs::Server</literal>
- variable (e.
g. <ulink url="http://packages.debian.org/changelogs">packages.debian.org/changelogs</ulink> for
+ variable (e.g. <ulink url="http://packages.debian.org/changelogs">packages.debian.org/changelogs</ulink> for
Debian or <ulink url="http://changelogs.ubuntu.com/changelogs">changelogs.ubuntu.com/changelogs</ulink> for
Ubuntu).
By default it displays the changelog for the version that is
<varlistentry><term><option>-m</option></term><term><option>--ignore-missing</option></term>
<term><option>--fix-missing</option></term>
- <listitem><para>Ignore missing packages; If packages cannot be retrieved or fail the
+ <listitem><para>Ignore missing packages; if packages cannot be retrieved or fail the
integrity check after retrieval (corrupted package files), hold back
those packages and handle the result. Use of this option together with
<option>-f</option> may produce an error in some situations. If a package is
<listitem><para>Quiet; produces output suitable for logging, omitting progress indicators.
More q's will produce more quiet up to a maximum of 2. You can also use
<option>-q=#</option> to set the quiet level, overriding the configuration file.
- Note that quiet level 2 implies <option>-y</option>, you should never use -qq
+ Note that quiet level 2 implies <option>-y</option>; you should never use -qq
without a no-action modifier such as -d, --print-uris or -s as APT may
- decided to do something you did not expect.
+ decide to do something you did not expect.
Configuration Item: <literal>quiet</literal>.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
actually change the system.
Configuration Item: <literal>APT::Get::Simulate</literal>.</para>
- <para>Simulation run as user will deactivate locking (<literal>Debug::NoLocking</literal>)
- automatic. Also a notice will be displayed indicating that this is only a simulation,
- if the option <literal>APT::Get::Show-User-Simulation-Note</literal> is set (Default: true).
- Neither NoLocking nor the notice will be triggered if run as root (root should know what
- he is doing without further warnings by <literal>apt-get</literal>).</para>
+ <para>Simulated runs performed as a user will automatically deactivate locking
+ (<literal>Debug::NoLocking</literal>), and if the option
+ <literal>APT::Get::Show-User-Simulation-Note</literal> is set
+ (as it is by default) a notice will also be displayed indicating that
+ this is only a simulation. Runs performed as root do not trigger either
+ NoLocking or the notice - superusers should know what they are doing
+ without further warnings from <literal>apt-get</literal>.</para>
- <para>Simulate prints out
- a series of lines each one representing a dpkg operation, Configure (Conf),
- Remove (Remv), Unpack (Inst). Square brackets indicate broken packages
- and empty set of square brackets meaning breaks that are of no consequence
- (rare).</para></listitem>
+ <para>Simulated runs print out a series of lines, each representing a <command>dpkg</command>
+ operation: configure (<literal>Conf</literal>), remove (<literal>Remv</literal>)
+ or unpack (<literal>Inst</literal>). Square brackets indicate broken packages, and
+ empty square brackets indicate breaks that are of no consequence (rare).</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry><term><option>-y</option></term><term><option>--yes</option></term>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry><term><option>-u</option></term><term><option>--show-upgraded</option></term>
- <listitem><para>Show upgraded packages; Print out a list of all packages that are to be
+ <listitem><para>Show upgraded packages; print out a list of all packages that are to be
upgraded.
Configuration Item: <literal>APT::Get::Show-Upgraded</literal>.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry><term><option>--ignore-hold</option></term>
- <listitem><para>Ignore package Holds; This causes <command>apt-get</command> to ignore a hold
+ <listitem><para>Ignore package holds; this causes <command>apt-get</command> to ignore a hold
placed on a package. This may be useful in conjunction with
<literal>dist-upgrade</literal> to override a large number of undesired holds.
Configuration Item: <literal>APT::Ignore-Hold</literal>.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry><term><option>--no-upgrade</option></term>
- <listitem><para>Do not upgrade packages; When used in conjunction with <literal>install</literal>,
+ <listitem><para>Do not upgrade packages; when used in conjunction with <literal>install</literal>,
<literal>no-upgrade</literal> will prevent packages on the command line
from being upgraded if they are already installed.
Configuration Item: <literal>APT::Get::Upgrade</literal>.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry><term><option>--only-upgrade</option></term>
- <listitem><para>Do not install new packages; When used in conjunction
+ <listitem><para>Do not install new packages; when used in conjunction
with <literal>install</literal>, <literal>only-upgrade</literal> will
install upgrades for already installed packages only and ignore requests
to install new packages.
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry><term><option>--force-yes</option></term>
- <listitem><para>Force yes; This is a dangerous option that will cause apt to continue
+ <listitem><para>Force yes; this is a dangerous option that will cause apt to continue
without prompting if it is doing something potentially harmful. It
should not be used except in very special situations. Using
<literal>force-yes</literal> can potentially destroy your system!
<varlistentry><term><option>--print-uris</option></term>
<listitem><para>Instead of fetching the files to install their URIs are printed. Each
URI will have the path, the destination file name, the size and the expected
- md5 hash. Note that the file name to write to will not always match
+ MD5 hash. Note that the file name to write to will not always match
the file name on the remote site! This also works with the
<literal>source</literal> and <literal>update</literal> commands. When used with the
<literal>update</literal> command the MD5 and size are not included, and it is
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry><term><option>--reinstall</option></term>
- <listitem><para>Re-Install packages that are already installed and at the newest version.
+ <listitem><para>Re-install packages that are already installed and at the newest version.
Configuration Item: <literal>APT::Get::ReInstall</literal>.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry><term><option>--list-cleanup</option></term>
- <listitem><para>This option defaults to on, use <literal>--no-list-cleanup</literal> to turn it
- off. When on <command>apt-get</command> will automatically manage the contents of
- <filename>&statedir;/lists</filename> to ensure that obsolete files are erased.
- The only reason to turn it off is if you frequently change your source
- list.
+ <listitem><para>This option is on by default; use <literal>--no-list-cleanup</literal> to turn
+ it off. When it is on, <command>apt-get</command> will automatically manage the contents
+ of <filename>&statedir;/lists</filename> to ensure that obsolete files are erased.
+ The only reason to turn it off is if you frequently change your sources list.
Configuration Item: <literal>APT::Get::List-Cleanup</literal>.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry><term><option>-t</option></term>
<term><option>--target-release</option></term>
<term><option>--default-release</option></term>
- <listitem><para>This option controls the default input to the policy engine, it creates
+ <listitem><para>This option controls the default input to the policy engine; it creates
a default pin at priority 990 using the specified release string.
This overrides the general settings in <filename>/etc/apt/preferences</filename>.
Specifically pinned packages are not affected by the value
<varlistentry><term><option>--trivial-only</option></term>
<listitem><para>
Only perform operations that are 'trivial'. Logically this can be considered
- related to <option>--assume-yes</option>, where <option>--assume-yes</option> will answer
+ related to <option>--assume-yes</option>; where <option>--assume-yes</option> will answer
yes to any prompt, <option>--trivial-only</option> will answer no.
Configuration Item: <literal>APT::Get::Trivial-Only</literal>.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry><term><option>--auto-remove</option></term>
<listitem><para>If the command is either <literal>install</literal> or <literal>remove</literal>,
- then this option acts like running <literal>autoremove</literal> command, removing the unused
+ then this option acts like running the <literal>autoremove</literal> command, removing unused
dependency packages. Configuration Item: <literal>APT::Get::AutomaticRemove</literal>.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
projects / apt.git / blobdiff