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What does << and >> mean? (package dependencies)

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tomcass
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What does << and >> mean? (package dependencies)

#1 Post by tomcass »

On the Debian packages repo site it will sometimes list a package dependency like this:

dep: libc-bin (>> 2.28)
GNU C Library: Binaries

What exactly does it mean when there are 2 greater than symbols in a row? Would version 2.28-10 meet the requirement? I've also seen it the opposite way around with 2 less than symbols. I know in maths it normally means "much greater" or "much less" than but in the context of package dependencies that doesn't make sense.

kedaha
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Re: What does << and >> mean? (package dependencies)

#2 Post by kedaha »

Hi,
<< means "strictly earlier" and >> means "strictly later".
The relations allowed are <<, <=, =, >= and >> for strictly earlier, earlier or equal, exactly equal, later or equal and strictly later, respectively. The exception is the Provides field, for which only = is allowed.
Please see: debian.org/doc/debian-policy/ch-relationships.html for further details.
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