Advanced Packaging Tool

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Advanced Packaging Tool
Basic data

Publishing year August 16, 1998
Current  version 2.0.0
( March 7, 2020 )
operating system GNU / Linux
programming language C ++
category Package management
License GNU General Public License, version 2.0 or later
wiki.debian.org/Apt

The Advanced Packaging Tool ( APT ) is a package management system that was developed in the area of ​​the Debian operating system and uses dpkg for the actual package management. The aim is to provide an easy way to search, install and update program packages . APT consists of a program library and several command line programs using this library, of which and are central. Since Debian 3.1 the use of aptitude is recommended as a console-based APT frontend. apt-getapt-cache

APT is also available in OpenSolaris (it was included in the Nexenta OS distribution ) and has also been ported to macOS , where it is used as part of the Fink project to install Debian software packages .

Internals

The file contains /etc/apt/sources.listthe so-called repositories , i.e. sources for packages. These can either be CDs or DVDs, directories on the hard drive or, more often, directories on HTTP or FTP servers. If the package you are looking for is on a server (or a local data carrier), it will be downloaded and installed automatically.

The packages are in the Debian package format (.deb), in which the respective dependencies of the program packages are stored. So automatically for a program and any required libraries to be downloaded and installed.

APT is based on dpkg . APT is primarily concerned with the procurement of packages, the comparison of available versions of the packages and the management of package archives.

Application examples

  • apt-get install paketname installs a package and all dependencies and, in the standard setting, also recommends packages.
  • apt-get remove paketnameremoves an existing package and the packages that depend on it. However, it does not remove dependencies on these packages or configuration files.
  • apt-get --purge remove paketname removes a package and the configuration files.
  • apt-get upgrade brings all packages up to date, if possible, but does not install new packages (which may be necessary to keep the system up-to-date if dependencies have changed)
  • apt-get dist-upgrade updates all packages and, if necessary, installs new packages or removes packages that conflict with the packages to be installed.
  • apt-get update fetches the latest information about packages from the Debian server.
  • apt-get source paketname fetches the source code of the package from the Debian server into the current directory.
  • apt-cache search suchwort searches for programs.
  • the separate tool apt-fileor can also be dpkg -Lused to find programs or files in packages that have not yet been installed

For example, if the user wants to install Gnome : 

# apt-get install gnome
Paketlisten werden gelesen... Fertig
Abhängigkeitsbaum wird aufgebaut... Fertig
Die folgenden zusätzlichen Pakete werden installiert:
 abiword-common abiword-gnome bluefish evolution gnome-office gtkhtml3.0
 libenchant1 libgal2.0-6 libgal2.0-common libgtkhtml3.0-4 libpq3 libsoup2.0-0
 planner
Vorgeschlagene Pakete:
 abiword-plugins abiword-plugins-gnome abiword-doc weblint gnome-spell
 postgresql-doc postgresql-client
Empfohlene Pakete:
 abiword abiword-help gnucash
Die folgenden NEUEN Pakete werden installiert:
 abiword-common abiword-gnome bluefish evolution gnome gnome-office
 gtkhtml3.0 libenchant1 libgal2.0-6 libgal2.0-common libgtkhtml3.0-4 libpq3
 libsoup2.0-0 planner
0 aktualisiert, 14 neu installiert, 0 zu entfernen und 136 nicht aktualisiert.
Es müssen noch 16,3 MB von 17,9 MB Archiven geholt werden.
Nach dem Auspacken werden 53,8 MB Plattenplatz zusätzlich benutzt.
Möchten Sie fortfahren? [J/n]

Front ends

In addition to the command line interface mentioned above, there are other front ends for package management that use APT. Aptitude offers a character-based user interface . Synaptic is a GUI frontend for the desktop environment . The programs Adept or KPackageKit are also available under KDE . In addition to APT, the latter also supports other systems such as RPM . With the Muon Package Management Suite based on the QApt abstraction layer , further GUI frontends are also being developed.

Smart Package Manager can also access repositories created for APT. He does not use APT, but his own routines.

With Fink and Cydia , front ends are available for macOS and its derivatives.

APT-RPM

Although originally written for Debian program packages, APT was later ported to RPM systems. Gustavo Niemeyer carried out the porting for the Linux distribution Conectiva and maintained it for a long time as a maintainer. In the meantime he is mainly working on his new Smart Package Manager project , and APT-RPM is being maintained and developed by other developers.

Apt-cacher and apt-proxy

Anyone who has several computers with an APT-based package management system in the network can relieve their network and the servers that provide the packages considerably by using one of these programs. In contrast to less specific proxy servers such as Squid , which can only use the information contained in the transmission protocols, these proxies know and use the packet structure and ensure that their stored data is up to date. Apt-cacher can be set to update itself automatically at regular intervals.

apt-offline

With there apt-offlineis the possibility of aptusing it on PCs without an Internet connection.

With, so-called signature files can be created, which represent a kind of list of packages available offline. All new packages and updates are stored in a ZIP archive on a computer with an Internet connection . The packets can then be aptattached to the normal cache on the offline computer .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ github.com .
  2. ^ The apt Open Source Project on Open Hub: Languages ​​Page . In: Open Hub . (accessed on July 14, 2018).
  3. ↑ salsa.debian.org . (accessed on July 20, 2018).
  4. ^ The apt Open Source Project on Open Hub: Licenses Page . In: Open Hub . (accessed on August 10, 2018).
  5. ^ Introducing QApt and the Muon Package Manager . Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  6. ^ "Muon" is now the Muon Package Management Suite . Retrieved December 7, 2010.
  7. ↑ apt-offlineon Ubuntuusers.de