Re: 'rpm --freshen': dpkg Equivalent?

[Niels L Ellegaard <gnalle@ruc.dk>]

On Sun, 07 Nov 2004 11:05:01 -0500
Kenneth Jacker <khj@be.cs.appstate.edu> wrote:

> How can I use 'dpkg' to install a new .deb, but *only* if the package
> is already on a machine?  With RPM, you can use the "freshen" option
> ("-F" or "--freshen").  But how with 'dpkg'?
> 
> In other words:
>   o If the package is already installed, then update it
>   o If the package is not installed, do nothing (do *not* install it)

You may succeed with one of the following two suggestions (change syntax of "if" according to shell)

if (dpkg -l package-name | grep  -c ii ) apt-get install package-name;

if (dpkg -l package-name | grep  -c ii ) dpkg -i ./package.deb;

But I still don't understand why you wish to do all this. In most cases it is easier to upgrade all packages at once:

apt-get update && apt-get upgrade

         		Good luck

         		    Niels