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AlexBB 03-22-2014 11:06 AM

Aptitude
 
I am a newbie and it is my perhaps 15th post (thread). Not that the previous 14 enriched my knowledge so far but I feel a little better.

My environment is: Windows 7==>Oracle VirtualBox==>Ubuntu 12.4 (32 bit). At some of my previous posts a question about aptitude came up and I want to get a close look at it.

(1) Is apt-get command a command related to Aptitude?

(2) Is the Archive manager I see in my Download folder the same as: aptitude_0.4.1.11.11.1ubuntu10lucid1.1386.deb. So, it looks I downloaded it although I do not recall from where.

(3) When I click on this file's name on the desktop I get the next page with this:

Quote:

Terminal-based package manager (terminal interface only)
Below that is this:

Quote:

Dependency is not satisfiable: libapt-pkg-libc6.10.6-4.8
Then this:

Quote:

Error


Error in what? I simply clicked on the file's name, that's it. What kind of error is it?

Then this stuff which I presume every Linux user has seen many times:

Quote:

aptitude is a terminal-based package manager with a number of useful features, including: a mutt-like syntax for matching packages in a flexible manner, dselect-like persistence of user actions, the ability to retrieve and display the Debian changelog of most packages, and a command-line mode similar to that of apt-get.

aptitude is also Y2K-compliant, non-fattening, naturally cleansing, and housebroken.
(4) What does it mean mutt-like?

(5) What does it mean: dselect-like persistence of user actions?

(6) What is Debian changelog?

And the last line I presume is an attempt to be funny, right? When you try to figure out what almost every word means that last sentence does not sound too funny.

I will appreciate any help. Thanks, - alexBB

AlexBB 03-22-2014 11:53 AM

This is an update. Following instructions of this website I figured out that the Aptitude was not installed on my machine after all. Now it seems I installed it. Kind of funny. I saw the file somewhere in the directories and what it was doing there? The installation process raised other questions but they are so numerous I would rather mull them silently. Thanks. - alexBB

Doc CPU 03-22-2014 12:07 PM

Hi there,

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexBB (Post 5139313)
I am a newbie and it is my perhaps 15th post (thread). Not that the previous 14 enriched my knowledge so far but I feel a little better.

;-)

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexBB (Post 5139313)
My environment is: Windows 7==>Oracle VirtualBox==>Ubuntu 12.4 (32 bit). At some of my previous posts a question about aptitude came up and I want to get a close look at it.

(1) Is apt-get command a command related to Aptitude?

In a way, yes. As you may have learned meanwhile, apt-get and a few related tools make up the command-line approach to managing the installed software packages, especially adding and removing software. Because many people find that uncomfortable, there's aptitude, which is an interactive front-end for apt-get & co. There's another one, synaptic. Probably you've used that already. Basically, synaptic and aptitude do the same job, but while aptitude is a console application, synaptic is GUI-based.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexBB (Post 5139313)
(2) Is the Archive manager I see in my Download folder the same as: aptitude_0.4.1.11.11.1ubuntu10lucid1.1386.deb. So, it looks I downloaded it although I do not recall from where.

I can't follow you with that one, sorry, especially as you seem to confuse Archive Manager and aptitude here. But the deb package you have there is definitely NOT right for your version of Ubuntu. You said you're using 12.04 (code-named "Precise Pangolin"), but the package is for "Lucid Lynx", which is 10.04 - two years older than yours!

But as a rule of thumb: In modern Linux distros like Ubuntu and its kin, it is very, very uncommon to "download a programm and run an installer", as you'd normally do in Windows. All software management should preferably be done with apt-get or one of its front-ends aptitude or synaptic. That way you benefit from the community-maintained stock of software for your individual distro, you can be sure that it's not tampered with, and you have an automatic check for updates.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexBB (Post 5139313)
(3) When I click on this file's name on the desktop [...]

... you're starting the installation of that software package. But processing it that way, there is no check for dependencies. Using apt-get there would be such a check, and you would be asked if additional packages that this one needs should be installed automatically.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexBB (Post 5139313)
(4) What does it mean mutt-like?

Mutt is a very simple console-based e-mail client.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexBB (Post 5139313)
(5) What does it mean: dselect-like persistence of user actions?

Honestly, I don't know.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexBB (Post 5139313)
(6) What is Debian changelog?

The list of changes that is maintained for each software package.

[X] Doc CPU

AlexBB 03-22-2014 12:54 PM

Doc_CPU, You are a real DOC! Quite a bit of information and more clarity. I have already learned that I should not try to download anything and all the stuff should be here, somewhere, behind the apt-get command. Sure I have seen the word synaptic, but so far never used it. Thank you, - Alex

DavidMcCann 03-22-2014 12:57 PM

Aptitude and apt-get are two different command-line approaches to using a repository. Debian prefers aptitude, but derivatives like Ubuntu prefer apt-get as simpler. Personally, I'd stick to (1) a gui program like synaptic or (2) apt-get, as that's what the repository assumes you're using.


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