Home Files
Adminer
Execute Command
PHP Eval
Symlink
File Upload
Owner :
www-data
PHP Version
5.6.40-0+deb8u12
Disk Space
40.98 GB
Server Addr
19-www4
Your IP
10.10.10.40
Edit File
File:
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd"> <html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><title>What is a package manager?</title><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="aptitude.css"><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.78.1"><link rel="home" href="index.html" title="aptitude user's manual"><link rel="up" href="pr01.html" title="Introduction"><link rel="prev" href="pr01s01.html" title="What is this aptitude thing, anyway?"><link rel="next" href="pr01s03.html" title="What is the apt system?"><link rel="preface" href="pr01.html" title="Introduction"><link rel="chapter" href="ch01.html" title="Chapter 1. Getting started"><link rel="chapter" href="ch02.html" title="Chapter 2. aptitude reference guide"><link rel="chapter" href="ch03.html" title="Chapter 3. aptitude frequently asked questions"><link rel="chapter" href="ch04.html" title="Chapter 4. Credits"><link rel="reference" href="rn01.html" title="Command-line reference"><link rel="refentry" href="rn01re01.html" title="aptitude"><link rel="refentry" href="rn01re02.html" title="aptitude-create-state-bundle"><link rel="refentry" href="rn01re03.html" title="aptitude-run-state-bundle"></head><body bgcolor="white" text="black" link="#0000FF" vlink="#840084" alink="#0000FF"><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="3" align="center">What is a package manager?</th></tr><tr><td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="pr01s01.html"><img src="images/prev.gif" alt="Prev"></a> </td><th width="60%" align="center">Introduction</th><td width="20%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="pr01s03.html"><img src="images/next.gif" alt="Next"></a></td></tr></table><hr></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp51566864"></a>What is a package manager?</h2></div></div></div><p> A <em class="firstterm">package manager</em> keeps track of what software is installed on your computer, and allows you to easily install new software, upgrade software to newer versions, or remove software that you previously installed. As the name suggests, package managers deal with <em class="firstterm">packages</em>: collections of files that are bundled together and can be installed and removed as a group. </p><p> Often, a package is just a particular program. For instance, the instant messaging client <span class="command"><strong>gaim</strong></span> is contained in the Debian package of the same name. On the other hand, it is common for programs to consist of several interrelated packages. For instance, the <span class="command"><strong>gimp</strong></span> image editor consists not only of the <code class="systemitem">gimp</code> package, but also of the <code class="systemitem">gimp-data</code> package; in addition, several optional add-on packages (containing esoteric data, documentation, and so on) are also available. It is also possible for several small, related programs to be contained in a single package: for instance, the <code class="systemitem">fileutils</code> package contains several common Unix commands, such as <span class="command"><strong>ls</strong></span>, <span class="command"><strong>cp</strong></span>, etc. </p><p> Some packages require other packages in order to function. In Debian, packages can <em class="firstterm">depend</em> upon, <em class="firstterm">recommend</em>, <em class="firstterm">suggest</em>, <em class="firstterm">break</em>, or <em class="firstterm">conflict</em> with other packages. </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p> If a package A depends upon another package B, then B is required for A to operate properly. For instance, the <code class="systemitem">gimp</code> package depends upon the <code class="systemitem">gimp-data</code> package in order to ensure that the <a class="ulink" href="http://www.gimp.org" target="_top">GIMP</a> graphics editor can access its critical data files. </p></li><li class="listitem"><p> If a package A recommends another package B, then B provides important additional functionality to A that will be desired in most circumstances. For instance, the <code class="systemitem">mozilla-browser</code> package recommends the <code class="systemitem">mozilla-psm</code> package, which adds support for secure data transfers to the <a class="ulink" href="http://www.mozilla.org" target="_top">Mozilla</a> Web browser. While <code class="systemitem">mozilla-psm</code> is not strictly required for Mozilla to function, most users will want Mozilla to support the secure transmission of confidential data (such as credit card numbers). </p></li><li class="listitem"><p> If a package A suggests another package B, then package B provides functionality that may enhance A, but is not needed in most cases. For instance, the <code class="systemitem">kmail</code> package suggests the <code class="systemitem">gnupg</code> package, which contains encryption software that can be used by <a class="ulink" href="http://kmail.kde.org/" target="_top">KMail</a>. </p></li><li class="listitem"><p> If a package A conflicts with another package B, then the two packages cannot be installed at the same time. For instance, <code class="systemitem">fb-music-hi</code> conflicts with <code class="systemitem">fb-music-low</code> because they provide alternate sets of music for the game <a class="ulink" href="http://www.frozen-bubble.org" target="_top">Frozen Bubble</a>. </p></li></ul></div><p> The job of a package manager is to present an interface which assists the user in managing the collection of packages installed on his or her system. <span class="command"><strong>aptitude</strong></span> provides such an interface by building on the <code class="systemitem">apt</code> package management system. </p></div><div class="navfooter"><hr><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="pr01s01.html"><img src="images/prev.gif" alt="Prev"></a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="pr01.html"><img src="images/up.gif" alt="Up"></a></td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="pr01s03.html"><img src="images/next.gif" alt="Next"></a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">What is this aptitude thing, anyway? </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html"><img src="images/home.gif" alt="Home"></a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> What is the <code class="systemitem">apt</code> system?</td></tr></table></div></body></html>