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Re: installation of a package requests removal of a lot of packages



On Thu, 28 Jul 2005 14:24:58 +0100
Adam Funk <a24061@yahoo.com> wrote:

> 
> Is it possible or practical to revert from aptitude to apt-get if the
> user doesn't like aptitude?

Since aptitude can be used on the command-line with the same flags as
apt-get (aptitude update, aptitude upgrade, aptitude install <pkg>) and it
is known to handle dependency problems better than apt-get, I would say
it's possible, practical, and recommended.

> 
> I've been using testing and unstable for a couple of years and I still
> have problems with this.  What is the correct way to deal with this?
> 

To me, part of the fun in using testing and unstable is to work out what is
causing these problems for myself and report them back to the Debian
developers. Granted, I only run testing and unstable on machines that I can
afford some downtime on. For servers and critical workstations I always use
stable.

The main thing to keep in mind is that "aptitude upgrade" will upgrade
packages and hold back packages with dependency problems. The command
"aptitude dist-upgrade" will upgrade packages and remove packages with
dependency issues.

Due to the GCC 4.0 upgrade
(http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel-announce/2005/07/msg00001.html), the
name of libaspell15 has been changed to libaspell15c2. Everything that
depends on aspell needs to be repackaged to incorporate that name change. 

IMHO, the correct way to deal with this is to be patient and wait for the
developers to upgrade their packages. Until that happens, use "aptitude
upgrade" to keep your system up to date and hold off on any dist-upgrades
until the packages you need no longer have dependency issues. 

Remember, we're all in this together.
-- 
Bill Thompson
BillT@Mahagonny.com

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