Re: apt

[John Lapeyre <lapeyre@physics.arizona.edu>]

*Jules Bean wrote:
> On Mon, 22 Mar 1999, imrana wrote:
> > 
> > However I'm disappointed.
> > It doesn't have "scan" support for a unconventional *.deb file stack.(like the
> > one I've described above)
> > 
> > What I'm asking is this:
> > 
> > Will apt have a "scan" option?
> > Is it possible or impossible?
> 
> Do you know about dpkg-scanpackages?
> 
> This program generates a Packages file from a directory structure, and is
> the recommended way to support a custom package set.
> 
> dpkg-scanpackages is to be found in the dpkg-dev package.
> 
> An example would be like this:
> 
> cd /usr/local/repository
> dpkg-scanpackages mydebs/ /dev/null > mydebs/Packages
> 
> Then, insert into apt/sources.list
> 
> deb file:/usr/local/repository mydebs/
> 
> (The trailing slash is important)
> 
> Jules

	Great, I see this formula now and then on the list and forget to
save it somewhere.  It is rather important, but also obscure.  I remember
mucking around and finding dpkg-scanpackages eventually, and even then the
documentation was not suitable for a beginner.  Inlcuding it in apt would be
nice, or at least publishing the idiom you mentioned in some prominent user
level documentation ( it should be in the installation manual, perhaps. I am
not sure of the correct location.)




-- 
John Lapeyre <lapeyre@physics.arizona.edu>,  lapeyre@debian.org
Tucson,AZ     http://www.physics.arizona.edu/~lapeyre