Re: dpkg - the letter prefixes.. what do they mean

[Harry Putnam <reader@newsguy.com>]

dman <dsh8290@rit.edu> writes:

> On Fri, Mar 01, 2002 at 07:48:59AM -0800, Harry Putnam wrote:
> | Mark Janssen <m.janssen@syconos.nl> writes:
> | 
> | > dpkg -l | head
> | >
> | > The first 3 lines of the dpkg output list what the letters mean.
> | >
> | > maniac@widow:/etc/courier/smtpaccess$ dpkg -l | head
> | > Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
> | > | Status=Not/Installed/Config-files/Unpacked/Failed-config/Half-installed
> | > |/ Err?=(none)/Hold/Reinst-required/X=both-problems (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
> | > ||/ Name           Version        Description
> | > +++-==============-==============-============================================
> | 
> | Thanks.
> | 
> | I saw that stuff and couldn't make heads or tails of it.
> | My feeling is that it explains nothing and is downright confusing.
>
> It is confusing, until you actually stop and read it and follow the
> ascii-art.  The ascii art is arrows pointing from the description line
> to the column the description refers to.  The letters are just the
> first letter of the word they represent.  It seems rather intuitive to
> me (once I decided to actually read that output).

dman, must be gifted in some way I'm not.  Not to press the point
here, because I got good and thorough answers thanks to generous
helpers here.  

But... It is confusing before, during, and after reading it closely
and several times.  In fact I dare say that even now that I know what
it means I still see nothing in those lines to clue me in.

For example, can you show me what, in there tells, what `ii' means?
Yes, it would be a good guess that it means installed, but then what
does the second i mean?  Ditto with the others.

So let me have my little fun when I get lined out here and submit a
patch that even dopes like me can follow.