Aptitude vs Apt-Get

[rickh]

http://www.pthree.org/2007/08/12/aptitude-vs-apt-get/

We're winning the battle, one user at a time.

[Bulkley]

Aptitude is just a front-end for Apt-get, is it not? Every time I experiment with Aptitude, I give it up as too much trouble. When I want a GUI, I use Synaptic. Otherwise, I use apt-get line instructions.

[craigevil]

No thanks, I will stick with APT.

aptitude doesn't even come preinstalled on sidux.

The one and only time I try to use aptitude to do a dist-upgrade it wanted to remove most of kde, apt was smart enough to autohold the packages rather than trying to remove half of my system.

Right after my d-u that day I took the advice of the Kanotix/sidux devs and did apt-get remove --purge aptitude.

3 yrs on the same install with no problems since.

[rickh]

When I want a GUI, I use Synaptic. Otherwise, I use apt-get line instructions.

I have barely seen the ncurses interface of aptitude, and I certainly don't recommend it. My position is that Aptitude is best used from the command line, where all package management belongs.

[hellfire[bg]]

I`ve used apt ever since started using Debian. When i want to make things easier i use synaptic.

[Issyer]

We're winning the battle, one user at a time.

Actually nobody is winning anything. Yes, apt-get doesn't remove libraries. But it was not meant to. Just an example:

Code: Select all

$ sudo apt-get install mondo
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
The following extra packages will be installed:
  afio buffer cdrecord dosfstools libparted1.7-1 lzop mindi mindi-busybox
  parted
Suggested packages:
  libparted1.7-dev libparted1.7-i18n less petris acl attr lilo mondo-doc
  parted-doc
Recommended packages:
  mdadm ntfsprogs linux-image-2.6-amd64 linux-image-2.6-486
  kernel-image-2.6-386 kernel-image-2.4-386 kernel-image-2.6-itanium
  kernel-image-2.4-itanium
The following NEW packages will be installed
  afio buffer cdrecord dosfstools libparted1.7-1 lzop mindi mindi-busybox
  mondo parted
0 upgraded, 10 newly installed, 0 to remove and 4 not upgraded.
Need to get 0B/1582kB of archives.
After unpacking 4248kB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue [Y/n]? 

Code: Select all

$ sudo aptitude install mondo
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading extended state information       
Initializing package states... Done
Writing extended state information... Done
Reading task descriptions... Done         
Building tag database... Done    
The following NEW packages will be automatically installed:
  afio buffer cdrecord dosfstools fuse-utils libfuse2 libntfs9 
  libparted1.7-1 linux-image-2.6-amd64 linux-image-2.6.18-4-amd64 lzop 
  mdadm mindi mindi-busybox ntfsprogs parted 
The following packages have been kept back:
  libwine opera w32codecs wine 
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  afio buffer cdrecord dosfstools fuse-utils libfuse2 libntfs9 
  libparted1.7-1 linux-image-2.6-amd64 linux-image-2.6.18-4-amd64 lzop 
  mdadm mindi mindi-busybox mondo ntfsprogs parted 
0 packages upgraded, 17 newly installed, 0 to remove and 4 not upgraded.
Need to get 0B/19.2MB of archives. After unpacking 73.8MB will be used.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n/?] 

If I wanted a nice graphical interface and other bloats, I would continue using Windows. But I want a fast and obedient system. I use apt-get.

[Plato]

I use aptitude as it is really smarter when you have messed up your system.

[b9anders]

No thanks, I will stick with APT.

aptitude doesn't even come preinstalled on sidux.

aptitude is a frontend for apt, same way apt-get is.

[kirihito]

If I wanted a nice graphical interface and other bloats, I would continue using Windows. But I want a fast and obedient system. I use apt-get.

By default aptitude automatically installs recommended packages. That can be easily changed. aptitude->options->dependency handling->Uncheck install recommended packages automatically.

[actionM]

I'm still using BOTH! I'll let you guys know who wins...eventually.

[Issyer]

By default aptitude automatically installs recommended packages. That can be easily changed. aptitude->options->dependency handling->Uncheck install recommended packages automatically.

By default I can continue using apt-get without the need to figure out which package is recommended and so on.

[Plato]

I'm still using BOTH! I'll let you guys know who wins...eventually.

You'll lose as it is very bad idea to use apt and aptitude together. Those who complain that aptitude wants to remove their Gnome usually are apt users who decided to give aptitude a try. But the fact is that you should use either one or another unless you want to mess everything up.

[kirihito]

By default I can continue using apt-get without the need to figure out which package is recommended and so on.

Why would you have to figure out which package is recommended with aptitude?

[Issyer]

Why would you have to figure out which package is recommended with aptitude?

Why aptitude is better? Is it faster? It removes libraries together with the executable. But there are a lot of other tools that can remove libraries, if you need. Or you can simply copy the packages that are going to be installed from the terminal and save somewhere. It doesn't make any problem at all. I don't see any huge difference between apt-get and aptitude except that I need to learn one more program.

[rickh]

I don't see any huge difference between apt-get and aptitude except that I need to learn one more program.

Did you read the link in the OP.

[actionM]

I'm still using BOTH! I'll let you guys know who wins...eventually.

You'll lose as it is very bad idea to use apt and aptitude together. Those who complain that aptitude wants to remove their Gnome usually are apt users who decided to give aptitude a try. But the fact is that you should use either one or another unless you want to mess everything up.

Thanks for the warning. I do pay attention to whats being installed and un installed so hopefully I want skrew up to bad. I take lots of notes while experimenting with things

[Issyer]

I don't see any huge difference between apt-get and aptitude except that I need to learn one more program.

Did you read the link in the OP.

I did. I myself wrote a lot of similar articles. They forgot to put some ads on this page.

[plugwash]

You'll lose as it is very bad idea to use apt and aptitude together. Those who complain that aptitude wants to remove their Gnome usually are apt users who decided to give aptitude a try. But the fact is that you should use either one or another unless you want to mess everything up.

For the most part it should be ok with reasonablly modern debian, sarges aptitude had very buggy autoremoval code that did not get on well with packages installed by other means but that should be cleared up with etch.

the other common reason for things like gnome getting inadvertantly removed is the following scenario
1: gnome is installed via a metapackage
2: the user decides they don't want a particular gnome app that was pulled in by the metapackage
3: the user tries to remove the app, if they use aptitude it will try and remove all of gnome there and then. If they remove it with another tool aptitude will try and remove gnome the next time it is used.

lukillly etch's aptitude has the keep-all command for just this kind of situation so you can just remove the gnome app in question using apt-get and then immediately do aptitude keep-all.

the apt-get in lenny/sid also tracks what packages were automatically installed but unlike aptitude it does not act on this information until explicitly asked to.

[kirihito]

I don't see any huge difference between apt-get and aptitude except that I need to learn one more program.

It's just your example of apt-get/aptitude install mondo is flawed. Turning off one option, install recommended packages automatically, will make aptitude install and apt-get install the exact same. I wouldn't want new users getting the impression aptitude installs more then apt-get.

[BioTube]

In my opinion, aptitude's default removal of automatically installed packages is flawed. If you don't want one to be removed, you pretty much have to keep them all(and remember to do it consciously), whereas apt-get makes you explicitly remove automatically installed packages. The situation as it stands now leaves aptitude with only one "feature" apt-get doesn't have: a clumsy ncurses interface.