Bug#703366: RFH: apt-file -- search for files within Debian packages (command-line interface)

[Niels Thykier <niels@thykier.net>]

(Dropping CC for d-devel)

On 2013-03-20 11:40, David Kalnischkies wrote:
> On Mon, Mar 18, 2013 at 9:38 PM, Stefan Fritsch <sf@sfritsch.de> wrote:
>> The largest task as I see it would be to better integrate some or all of
>> the transport mechanisms, so that apt-file can behave properly for
>> different kinds of errors, report up-to-date-ness, etc.  Also better
>> download progress reporting and bandwith limiting would be nice.  Of
>> course, there are many other possible improvements that no one had time
>> to implement, see the open wishlist bugs.
> 

I am interested in working on apt-file.

> I would like to take the opportunity to invite anyone interested to join
> deity@lists.debian.org (cc'ed) and discuss if and how we could work
> on integrating apt-file more closely with other apt-* tools.
> 
> I (and I guess many other users) would be pleased if we could reach a
> point in which "apt-get update" (or its countless alternative ways) would
> update indeed all data I requested to be downloaded as a user rather than
> remembering to run also "apt-file update" (and "debtags update" and and and).
> 

Indeed that would be great.  Maybe packages like apt-file could install
a file in some directory APT reads saying "Please download X with updates" ?

> Beside pleasing user it might also free some resources on the code front
> as APT already does progress reporting, bandwidth limiting and security,
> even though I am certain we can improve all these further.
> 
> 
> [...]
> 
> 
> Best regards
> 
> David Kalnischkies
> 
> 


Not to mention new "transports" come for free. :)

~Niels