Re: apt{-cache,-get,itude} show wrong version of package after update

[Mark Fletcher <mark27q1@gmail.com>]

On Wed, Mar 28, 2018 at 09:31:11AM +0200, tomas@tuxteam.de wrote:
> On Wed, Mar 28, 2018 at 07:47:05AM +0900, Mark Fletcher wrote:
> 
> [...]
> 
> > I'm not sure if you really did what it sounds like you did here, but if 
> > you did... you can't mix and match commands to apt-get and aptitude.
> 
> I think this is false, at least in such an unrestricted and
> sweeping way. Apt (and apt-get, its younger cousin) and aptitude
> are just front ends to dpkg and use the same data bases in
> the background.
> 
> In particular...
> 
> > You did apt-get update so you need to use apt-get upgrade, or 
> > dist-upgrade, or whatever the apt-get command is
> 
> ...apt update and apt-get update are equivalent (as most
> probably aptitude update is).
> 

It wasn't apt and apt-get that were being compared though, it was 
aptitude and apt-get. And there _is_ some sort of difference between 
those two such that you have to update with the right one; I'm sure I've 
seen discussion of that on this forum before (I don't have links 
though).

> >                                             (I don't much use 
> > apt-get, have switched to the apt command since upgrading to stretch).
> 
> Apt is just a friendlier front-end for apt-get: the command
> outputs are not compatible (and you'll see a warning to that
> effect in apt, aimed at those who want to use apt's output
> in scripts), and aptitude has, AFAIK, some *extra* databases
> to record user intention, and a different dependency resolver,
> but the basic data sets (which packages are available, what
> state each is in, etc.) are common.

See above. The only person who mentioned apt was me, and even then only 
in the context of that's what I use nowadays. The OP never mentioned apt.

In any case, those "extra databases" are probably a pretty good reason 
not to mix and match front-ends in quite the way the OP was doing, even 
if it doesn't immediately lead straight to trouble trying to get one's 
system updated properly in the way I suggested it might.
> 
> > If you want to use aptitude upgrade, or dist-upgrade, or safe-upgrade, 
> > or whatever the command is (embarrassingly I have forgotten, I used 
> > aptitude for years _before_ upgrading to stretch) you need to first do 
> > aptitude update.
> > 
> > apt-get update followed by aptitude upgrade will lead to pain.
> 
> I don't think so: but I'm ready to be proven wrong!
> 

Certainly I have no proof except my experience and my (patchy) memory 
that I have seen discussion of this point on this list before.

Anyway the actual issue in this case turned out to be nothing to do with 
mixing and matching front-ends to dpkg. Glad the OP got his problem 
figured out.

Mark