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Bug#752682: marked as done (wishlist: latest version date)

Your message dated Thu, 26 Jun 2014 23:00:11 +0200
with message-id <20140626210011.GB23554@crossbow>
and subject line Re: Bug#752682: wishlist: latest version date
has caused the Debian Bug report #752682,
regarding wishlist: latest version date
to be marked as done.

This means that you claim that the problem has been dealt with.
If this is not the case it is now your responsibility to reopen the
Bug report if necessary, and/or fix the problem forthwith.

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-- 
752682: http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=752682
Debian Bug Tracking System
Contact owner@bugs.debian.org with problems
--- Begin Message --- 
Package: apt
Version: 1.0.3
Severity: wishlist

Hello, 
considering the multitude of debian packages, may be useful have (using apt-cache package_name) latest version date of package because sometimes original package (not debian deb) has not more maintained.
thanks

Pol

-- System Information:
Debian Release: jessie/sid
  APT prefers testing
  APT policy: (500, 'testing')
Architecture: i386 (i686)

Kernel: Linux 3.13-1-686-pae (SMP w/2 CPU cores)
Locale: LANG=en_US.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=en_US.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8)
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/dash

Versions of packages apt depends on:
ii  debian-archive-keyring  2012.4
ii  gnupg                   1.4.16-1.1
ii  libapt-pkg4.12          1.0.3
ii  libc6                   2.19-3
ii  libgcc1                 1:4.9.0-6
ii  libstdc++6              4.9.0-6

apt recommends no packages.

Versions of packages apt suggests:
pn  apt-doc     <none>
ii  aptitude    0.6.10-1
ii  dpkg-dev    1.17.10
ii  python-apt  0.9.3.6
ii  synaptic    0.81.2

-- no debconf information

--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message --- 
Hi,

On Wed, Jun 25, 2014 at 05:14:04PM +0200, Pol Hallen wrote:
> considering the multitude of debian packages, may be useful have (using apt-cache package_name) latest version date of package because sometimes original package (not debian deb) has not more maintained.

If I understand you correctly, you want to know the date of the last
version released upstream.

Let me pick a random example: antlr3 (I am not picking on the
maintainer, it is just the first package I found with a lot of debian
releases, it could have been anyone else)
PTS: http://packages.qa.debian.org/a/antlr3.html
Last-Upstream: 3.5.2 (March 25, 2014)
Last-Packaged-Upstream: 3.2 (I looked, but I couldn't find it easily…,
2010 it seems, but I have really no idea)
Last-Debian-Upload: 3.2-10 (April 07, 2014)

I am not sure what these dates should tell me. And I am neither sure
which of those dates would be what you would like to know nor what they
would tell you.


If a debian package exists, it is still maintained by definition: by the
maintainer. If the maintainer isn't maintaining it anymore either
someone else will step in or the package will be removed from the
archieve.  If upstream doesn't work on it anymore either the maintainer
becomes the new upstream or she/he will (again) ask for the removal from
the archieve.

Further more, as you can see, even a human can't always extract the
dates from the homepages of upstream. So I doubt a machine could do it…
also release isn't release………

"apt-cache show" shows also the Homepage-URL of the program which is
probably a way better way for you to find out if you want to use this
software or not. I at least do it all the time to look for the date of
last release, but also general community health and co a machine can
absolutely not evaluate.


Ignoring that for a moment, apt would need this information be present
in one of the files it downloads, so it can parse and present it to the
user. What is in those files is ultimatively decided by Debians
ftpmasters, so if you still want that information and can provide
compelling arguments for it, you are better of talking to them. I am
therefore closing this bug here for now as we from the apt side can't do
anything about that. We here just work with what we get from others, apt
isn't going to hunt for information all over the internet.


Best regards

David Kalnischkies

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