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Re: dpkg -i question



On Wed,05.Aug.09, 09:38:54, Hinko Kocevar wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I've started using dpkg in the company I work for now. Before that I
> was not familiar with the tool.

dpkg is a very useful tool, but it shouldn't be necessary unless your 
package is not available via APT.

> My question is in regard to the fact when/how are files installed in
> /etc/default when I run 'dpkg -i pkg.deb'.

Not every package ships files in /etc/default, not even in /etc

> What I've observed is that missing or modified file in /etc/default is
> never installed or replaced, even when missing on the filesystem and
> present in the deb package. If file in /etc/default is missing it can
> be forced with 'dpkg --force-all -i pkg.deb', that works. This is not
> the case for eg. files placed in /opt/bin (the same package).
> 
> I guess that there is a resonable explanatin for this and that is what
> I'm looking for.

If the file in question is declared as a conffile then yes, dpkg will 
not replace it if missing. If you have a newer version of the same 
package with a modified conffile dpkg should ask what to do (keep old, 
replace, ...)

I think you are looking for --force-confmiss and --force-confnew, but 
please read the manpage for dpkg before attempting this.

Regards,
Andrei
-- 
If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.
(Albert Einstein)

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