Bug#622347: python-apt: Please add a public function fetch_archives

[Patrick Schoenfeld <schoenfeld@debian.org>]

Hi,

On Tue, Apr 12, 2011 at 02:02:56PM +0200, Julian Andres Klode wrote:
> On Di, 2011-04-12 at 13:20 +0200, Patrick Schoenfeld wrote:
> > Package: python-apt
> > Version: 0.7.100.2
> > Severity: wishlist
> > 
> > Hi,
> > 
> > I'm currently working on a python-apt based variant of fai-mirror,
> > which uses python-apt to resolve dependencies for the packages
> > and download them. Currently the only way to NOT install packages and download
> > them only is to use an internal function _fetch_archives for example like this:
> > 
> > fetch_progress = apt.progress.text.AcquireProgress()
> > depcache = self.cache._depcache
> > pm = apt_pkg.PackageManager(depcache)
> > fetcher = apt_pkg.Acquire(fetch_progress)
> > self.cache._fetch_archives(fetcher, pm)
> > 
> > Its obvious that this is quiet unfortunate. Therefore it would be nice,
> > if python-apt supported a method which allows fetching packages only.
> 
> You can fetch single versions by using Version.fetch_binary(), or go

This wouldn't work, because I need the package with their depends.

> through the list of all changed packages and mark the URIs for download
> (via Version.uri)

Does the list of changed packages include depends? Would I need to do
anything else to actually fetch the packages?

> But if really wanted we could surely at a public
> fetch_archives method.

Well, as far as I can tell it currently seems that such a function
(implemented similar to the above code) solves the problem of
downloading all packages marked to be installed AND their depends. There
is no need for such a function if thats easily possible with the
existing API...

Best Regards,
Patrick