Is there a way to integrate apt-get with any downloader manager?

dimastoledo · 05-02-2004, 05:51 PM

Hello!
I'm new to this forum. Escuse me my bad English.

I'm using apt-get in a Conectiva9 distribution. I like it and synaptic.
But with a PPP conection, its performance iis really bad because it gets only one file at a time.
Is there a way to make apt-get more flexible and acelerate the process of downloading packages files, like the downloaders managers (kget, or Downloader for X, for example)?

Thanks a lot.

hellblade · 05-02-2004, 07:17 PM

Hi.
I don't think it's possible, but one solution is to browse the archives with your browser and download the packages you want. Then:
# dpkg -i your_downloaded_packages.deb

I hope that helps you.

dimastoledo · 05-02-2004, 08:06 PM

Thanks to hellblade for the rapid response.
This alternate solution is good for individual packages and I will use it in this case.
But when I'm upgrading the system, in the automated process I do only

Quote:

apt-get update

and

Quote:

apt-get upgrade

.
Then, all rpm packages that have new version and no conflit with other dependencies will be upgraded. In this way and at this time, I didn't know what files will be.

Another situation: to install a software , I make

Quote:

apt-get install RpmPackageName

and this and all dependencies packages will be downloaded.

I think, too, that apt-get has a database where it put the name of the downloads files and I can't alter this manually.

Is this a case for the apt-get developers?

hellblade · 05-03-2004, 06:36 AM

Try adding the same sources from two mirrors. Then I think you will get two files at a time.
An other way is to set an apt-proxy in your machine, add there the sources you use and point that (eg. deb http://localhost:9999/main/ unstable main contrib non-free) in your apt sources.list. I think that apt-proxy can be configured to download more than one files at a time.

*note that my example is for debian which is not your case

I hope this helps.

dimastoledo · 05-04-2004, 08:14 AM

I didn't have apt-proxy. I will try it, if compatible with rpm and Conectiva distribution.

Yesterday, I added mirrors in the sources.list file and apt got two files at a time, but not for all packages. I will investigate it in more details at another opportunity.

Thanks a lot.

clausi · 05-04-2004, 07:32 PM

The following tip was published on a german Linux website recently:

Code:

apt-get --print-uris -y dist-upgrade | grep "^'" | awk '{ print $1 }' | sed "s/'//g" > get.lst

should print the packages in the file get.lst. Then you can wget the packages:

Code:

wget -c -i get.lst

If you run wget in the dir "/var/cache/apt/archives/", they should be accessible after another

Code:

apt-get update

If you have a friend with a good connection, you get let him wget the packages in a new dir, for example "~/packages", then run:

Code:

dpkg-scanpackages ~/packages /dev/null > ~/packages/Packages

and let him burm the content of the directory onto a CD. You can add the CD with

Code:

apt-cdrom add -d /<mountpoint of the CDROM>

to your package repository, update && dist-upgrade.

Note I didn't test it.

Edit: Opps, this is supposed to hold for Debian, dunno about other implementations.