Misunderstanding python-apt

[Don Rozenberg <rozen@mcn.org>]

Hi,

I am new to Debian, but have been around linux and UNIX for quite a while.
I have been running Mandrake for years and decided to have a go at 
Debian which I installed via Knoppix. One of my main reasons was the 
package management.  Now I would like to add additional programs like wajig.

My sources.list is set up to access stable and testing versions of the 
system. When I try executing:

      sudo apt-get install wajig

I get the error message:

Sorry, but the following packages have unmet dependencies:
 wajig: Depends: python-apt but it is not going to be installed


So I try:

   sudo apt-get install python-apt

And that get me the retort:

Sorry, but the following packages have unmet dependencies:
 python-apt: Depends: libapt-inst-libc6.3-5-1.0 but it is not installable
             Depends: libapt-pkg-libc6.3-5-3.3 but it is not installable

After flaying around I decided that the libapt stuff was in apt-utils. 
So I tried:

   sudo apt-get install apt-utils

Then, the message was:

   Sorry, apt-utils is already the newest version.


Can you suggest where I am misunderstanding apt-get or debian package 
management?"

The next question is: "How do packages like wajig and python-apt get 
into the stable category if they cannot be installed?"


Thanks,

Don Rozenberg
rozen@mcn.org
707-882-3601