Debian - Are dpkg, apt-get, aptitude... safely "mixable"?

armandino · 02-07-2011, 04:46 AM

I know software packages can be managed, in a Debian or similar system, with many different tools: dpkg, apt-get, aptitude (both from command line and interactive menus), dselect, synaptic and, lately, also Software Center.

My question is about using two or more of them: is that safe or is there the risk of messing up things?
Do all those tools use a single shared database (locally installed packages, available packages...) or does each have it's own? If yes, where is it stored?
If I install or remove a package with one tool, will the others be aware of that?
If I update the whole packages information, for example by issuing "apt-get update", will also the other tools benefit from the update?

Thanks

lugoteehalt · 02-07-2011, 06:45 AM

I am always using dpkg, apt-get, and aptitude and am unaware of any problems. Certainly no problems that draw attention to themselves.

salasi · 02-07-2011, 08:48 AM

Do not use two (or, indeed, more than two) simultaneously. Sequentially will be fine.

armandino · 02-07-2011, 10:26 AM

Thanks for the help.
What about the database of installed and available packages?
Do those tools share it? Where is it stored?
How does one of the tools get informed about packages installed or removed by the others?

reed9 · 02-07-2011, 10:50 AM

Looks like there were some problems mixing apt-get and aptitude prior to Debian Lenny.

http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/re...ent_operations

Quote:

Since apt-get and aptitude share auto-installed package status (see Section 2.5.5, “The package state for APT”) after lenny, you can mix these tools without major troubles (see Bug #594490).

lugoteehalt · 02-07-2011, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by armandino

Thanks for the help.
What about the database of installed and available packages?
Do those tools share it? Where is it stored?
How does one of the tools get informed about packages installed or removed by the others?

Here's the manual thing for apt-get:

Code:

/etc/apt/sources.list
    Locations to fetch packages from. Configuration Item: Dir::Etc::SourceList. 
/etc/apt/apt.conf
    APT configuration file. Configuration Item: Dir::Etc::Main. 
/etc/apt/apt.conf.d/
    APT configuration file fragments Configuration Item: Dir::Etc::Parts. 
/etc/apt/preferences
    Version preferences file. This is where you would specify "pinning", i.e. a preference to get certain packages from a separate source or from a different version of a distribution. Configuration Item: Dir::Etc::Preferences. 
/var/cache/apt/archives/
    Storage area for retrieved package files. Configuration Item: Dir::Cache::Archives. 
/var/cache/apt/archives/partial/
    Storage area for package files in transit. Configuration Item: Dir::Cache::Archives (implicit partial). 
/var/lib/apt/lists/
    Storage area for state information for each package resource specified in sources.list(5) Configuration Item: Dir::State::Lists. 
/var/lib/apt/lists/partial/
    Storage area for state information in transit. Configuration Item: Dir::State::Lists (implicit partial).