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Re: using unstable package on testing?



* Jeroen Valcke (jeroen@valcke.com) [020406 12:19]:
> Hello,
> 
> Weird, Licq is available as a package in unstable and in stable, but not
> in testing. My question what's the best thing to do to install this on a
> Debian testing system? Is it possible to select some package from
> unstable and install them on a testing machine?

Yes, and actually quite painless. Create an /etc/apt/preferences file
with something like this in it:

Package: *
Pin: release a=testing
Pin-Priority: 700

Package: *
Pin: release a=unstable
Pin-Priority: 500

And add unstable lines to your sources.list . apt-get update . apt-get
install licq . That should do it! What this setup does is tell apt that
packages from testing are preferred over packages from unstable, but
that the latter are still available when no better candidate exists.
Read up on man apt_preferences for more details about what the numbers
mean, etc.

With this setup you can also install individual pacakges from unstable
using the following notation:

apt-get install realplayer/unstable

that might give you some dependency errors if the unstable package
depends on packages with newer versions in unstable, in which case

apt-get -t unstable install realplayer

will perform the operation temporarily setting unstable as the preferred
distro (for that one operation only).

I'm glossing over it rather quickly here; you can learn more by seeing
the archives of this list and reading the apt manpages.

good times,
Vineet

-- 
Currently seeking opportunities in the SF Bay Area
Please see http://www.doorstop.net/resume.shtml

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