[conspire] Ubuntu Unable to process updates

Rick Moen rick at linuxmafia.com
Sat Mar 1 00:33:19 PST 2008


Quoting K Sandoval (indigo.kai at gmail.com):

> WHOA!!!
> 
> sudo apt-get update  LOOKS like it WORKED!!!

FWIW, you _could_ eschew update-manager entirely, and use command-line
tools only.

apt-get:  fetches packages and works out / satisfies their dependencies
dpkg: low-level tool that installs/removes packages locally. (apt-get uses it.)
apt-cache:  searches for specified info about installed or not-install pkgs
deborphan/debfoster:  tools that find unneeded packages

Using just the above tools (if on *buntu, invoked using sudo) lets you 
manage packaged software on any *buntu or Debian or similar system,
without even needing X11 to be running -- quickly and efficiently.

There are also a number of tools to compile, where necessary,
Debianised binary packages.  You can read about those more-advanced
tools inside my knowledgebase's http://linuxmafia.com/kb/Debian
category, if you ever need them.


On the other hand, I know of nothing particularly wrong with
update-manager -- or synaptic, or kpackage, or the ncurses-oriented
full-screen mode of aptitude.[1]  As Mr. Lincoln said, those are the
kind of thing that will be enjoyed by those who enjoy that kind of
thing.

[1] "aptitude", if started with no parameters, runs in full-screen mode.
Alternatively, it works as a command-line tool, responding to the same 
commands that apt-get uses.  It also also does some things apt-get 
doesn't.  It is now the officially recommended package tool in Debian:
apt-get and debfoster are officially deprecated in its favour.  I
personally do not agree, finding aptitude slow and ponderous in
comparison, and slightly less likely to reliably do the right thing 
in handling package dependencies.





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