Re: Searching for sources
(Reordering...)
Bruno Diniz de Paula <diniz@cs.rutgers.edu> writes:
> So, how could I know in advance which packages are available in the
> source mirrors listed on my sources.list file?
Every binary package should have a corresponding source package.
> does anybody know how can I search for a source package? For example, I
> was wishing to install pine in my machine. If I do:
>
> apt-cache search pine
>
> the pine package isn't listed, but if I do:
>
> apt-get -b source pine
>
> it installs the package perfectly.
pine is a special case, since its license basically forbids Debian
from distributing packages of it. (It's okay to distribute the
pristine pine source and a set of patches and have the user build the
result, which is what 'apt-get source -b' automates.) In almost every
other case, every source package builds at least one binary package.
You might consider using an APT front-end, like aptitude, where you
can browse through the list of packages easier. Instead of pine, if
you don't need so much hand-holding, you might consider the DFSG-free
mutt, which has a somewhat similar user interface.
--
David Maze dmaze@debian.org http://people.debian.org/~dmaze/
"Theoretical politics is interesting. Politicking should be illegal."
-- Abra Mitchell
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