Re: find out the primary packages installed

[Georg Drees <tuxlifan@gmail.com>]

* On Sun, 27 Mar 2005 22:34:04 -0800, Karsten M. Self
<kmself@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> Revisiting oldies....
> 
> on Wed, Feb 23, 2005 at 07:04:48AM -0600, Hugo Vanwoerkom [...] wrote:
> > BRINER Cedric wrote:
[...]
> > >How can I know which packages I asked to install. Instead of which
> > >packages are installed.
[...]
> > There is no way.
[...]
> Actually, if you use aptitude (and one of the reasons you should
> consider doing so, _despite_ issues like bug#299009), is that it logs
> actions.  Including both requested and dependent packages.  From a
> section of a recent install request:
[heavily snipped:]
> [INSTALL, DEPENDENCIES] pvm
> [HOLD] bochs
> [INSTALL] wmget
> I suspect the file /var/lib/aptitude/pkgstates may have this information

I have those lines in _/var/log/aptitude*_; but I guess you are
referring with "this information" to the information the OP wanted?

> but can't find a reference to what the flags within the file mean.

Have a look at: http://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2004/02/msg03579.html

Let me add another shot at the problem:
If you install "sudo" as your first package and then only use "sudo
aptitude ..." or whatever command you use to install (and don't use
aptitude interactively, i.e. only CLI), you should be able to grep the
information out of /var/log/auth* - presumed that installations never
got cancelled, etc., but that's also the case with aptitude's logging.

I know this is not a good solution for the moment if you didn't use
sudo, but maybe for the future...

HTH somehow
Georg

P.S.: a IMO interesting discussion: http://www.debianplanet.com/node.php?id=983

-- 
tuXLifan