Re: An INCOMPLETE solution - was [Re: Where is data stored when Synaptic scans DVDs?]
On 2017-03-24, David Wright <deblis@lionunicorn.co.uk> wrote:
>
> Good point. I noticed that the two .bin files in /var/cache/apt/ that
> https://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2017/03/msg00722.html
> mentioned, come and go with apt-get update and clean respectively.
> I had overlooked how ephemeral they are. They're built from scratch at
> the "Reading package lists... Done" line after the Fetched line.
> If your only sources are the DVDs then I can't see a problem with just
> adding those files (or whatever the names are of any files that
> appear—they could differ with apt-cdrom) to your list of files you
> (OP) share between systems. It's tricky to check what's actually
> in them as they're binary databases (what I called "hidden"
> information previously).
>
Actually, srcpkgcache.bin includes the information contained in the files
in /var/lib/apt/lists; that is, all the info you obtain from the internet
via your deb and deb-src lines -- this information changes only on
apt-get update.
pkgcache.bin caches the information in srcpkgcache.bin + the information
extracted from the apt and dpkg status files. This info changes on every
install/remove done by apt or directly by dpkg.
The above scandalously pilfered from David Kalnischkies here:
https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=566275
You can run 'strings' on pkgcache.bin BTW.
curty@einstein:/var/cache/apt$ strings pkgcache.bin | less
Standard .deb
amd64
/var/lib/apt/lists/httpredir.debian.org_debian_dists_wheezy_main_binary-amd64_Packages
httpredir.debian.org
Debian Package Index
0~r11863-2
games
0ad-data
0~r11863
0~r11863-2
gamin
libboost-signals1.49.0
1.49.0-1
libc6
2.11
libcurl3-gnutls
<etc>
It doesn't appear that tricky.
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