On Sat, Mar 26, 2005 at 10:28:24AM -0500, Gene Heskett wrote: > There really needs to be a switch one could set to tell apt-get to > ignore that which has nothing to do with the program being evaluated > for installation. In that manner, it might be possible to gradually > bring a system *it* thinks is hosed, back into compliance one program > at a time as the newer versions do become available. Its all or > nothing attitude is unbecoming at best and renders it a far less > usefull tool than it should be. So to make an analogy you want to say to apt: "Yes, I know my car has a flat tire, but can you please ignore that for a moment and just install a steering wheel?" Sounds like a valid wish. [You may want to submit a wishlist bug for apt-get then.] I wonder if the apt-get option '--fix-broken' is of use here. I have never used it, but it might be (part of) the solution. > Now, if we had a program that would allow the editing of the installed > packages database, doing it in an error correcting mostly automatic > manner (the tools to obtain the linkage dependencies are available I > believe) so that apt-get does know the pertinant details of what > you've installed from the tarball, one could with a bit of diligence, > bring the system back into compliance with the apt-get defined view > of the world. > > Lacking that tool, our systems work very well indeed but we are still > hosed and prevented from making use what is otherwise a truely great > tool. So we go get the new tarball and install it instead, thereby > compounding the issue at an ever higher rate. Work with the system, not against the system. When you install a tarball you probably know what you are doing. So you probably know what libraries or other programs your tarball depends upon. Then make a Debian package out of it! It need not be that hard, though I have never done it myself. Even a dummy package may be enough: create a package that has no content, but does depend on the libraries that your tarball depends upon. Or if you have some packages that you need to keep installed but that depend on a removed package, you could make a dummy package that Provides that removed package. Apt will be happy because all dependencies are solved and you will be happy because your packages are not on the extermination list anymore. Does anyone know a tool that makes this easy? -- Maurits van Rees | http://maurits.vanrees.org/ [Dutch/Nederlands] Public GnuPG key: keyserver.net ID 0x1735C5C2 "Let your advance worrying become advance thinking and planning." - Winston Churchill
Attachment:
signature.asc
Description: Digital signature