apt_preferences
I think that "aptitude" does not handle "/etc/apt/preferences" (man
apt_preferences) correctly, and I have a question about what "apt-get
dist-upgrade" is supposed to do.
First of all, does "aptitude" support the "apt_preferences" mechanism
described in the "apt_preferences" man page? If not, it should! I'm
having a hard time telling if it has done the right thing or not --
there is no indicator as to what release each package is to be
downloaded from until it actually prints the URI while pulling them
in. IIRC, it pulled several or all of the updates from "unstable"
when it should have pulled them from "testing" (see below for
config).
Secondly, does "apt-get dist-upgrade" override the preferences
policy, or not? I don't think it should (unless you document that
behavior...) unless the "--target-release" switch is given. I'd
prefer that it require the explicit switch. Also, and indication of
where those packages may be downloaded from (or if already
downloaded, what release they belong to according to the Packages
files) would be useful. Can you make a long form (like ls -la) of
the "-u" switch please? Shall I wishlist that?
I've got a machine that has both "unstable" and "testing" listed in
the "sources.list". There is a "preferences" file that sets a
default Pin on "testing", and the "apt-cache policy" command shows
that it's set the way I want. "testing" is the default release, and
unless I explictly ask for a package from "unstable", none of the
tools should select one during automatic upgrade procedures.
I _think_ that "aptitude" may have violated that policy though, but
am not sure. The "preferences" policy behaviour is very important in
cases where an admin is keeping a local apt download repository with
homebuilt packages that shadow the Debian ones for whatever
reason. (crypto, for instance)
# apt-cache policy
Package Files:
100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
release a=now
500 http://non-us.debian.org unstable/non-US/non-free Packages
release o=Debian,a=unstable,l=Debian,c=non-US/non-free
origin non-us.debian.org
500 http://non-us.debian.org unstable/non-US/contrib Packages
release o=Debian,a=unstable,l=Debian,c=non-US/contrib
origin non-us.debian.org
500 http://non-us.debian.org unstable/non-US/main Packages
release o=Debian,a=unstable,l=Debian,c=non-US/main
origin non-us.debian.org
989 http://non-us.debian.org testing/non-US/non-free Packages
release o=Debian,a=testing,l=Debian,c=non-US/non-free
origin non-us.debian.org
989 http://non-us.debian.org testing/non-US/contrib Packages
release o=Debian,a=testing,l=Debian,c=non-US/contrib
origin non-us.debian.org
989 http://non-us.debian.org testing/non-US/main Packages
release o=Debian,a=testing,l=Debian,c=non-US/main
origin non-us.debian.org
500 http://http.us.debian.org unstable/non-free Packages
release o=Debian,a=unstable,l=Debian,c=non-free
origin http.us.debian.org
500 http://http.us.debian.org unstable/contrib Packages
release o=Debian,a=unstable,l=Debian,c=contrib
origin http.us.debian.org
500 http://http.us.debian.org unstable/main Packages
release o=Debian,a=unstable,l=Debian,c=main
origin http.us.debian.org
989 http://http.us.debian.org testing/non-free Packages
release o=Debian,a=testing,l=Debian,c=non-free
origin http.us.debian.org
989 http://http.us.debian.org testing/contrib Packages
release o=Debian,a=testing,l=Debian,c=contrib
origin http.us.debian.org
989 http://http.us.debian.org testing/main Packages
release o=Debian,a=testing,l=Debian,c=main
origin http.us.debian.org
Pinned Packages:
--
mailto: (Karl M. Hegbloom) karlheg@microsharp.com
Free the Software http://www.debian.org/social_contract
http://www.microsharp.com
phone://USA/WA/360-260-2066
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