D&C GLug - Home Page

[ Date Index ] [ Thread Index ] [ <= Previous by date / thread ] [ Next by date / thread => ]

Re: [LUG] OpenOffice 2 on Debian Sarge?

 

Adrian Midgley (in the office) wrote:
> 
> I found pinning confusing when I looked at it last time.  I suspect it
> could be made simpelr to understand, but not by me since I don't
> properly understand it.

Pinning is quite simple. You just assign a priority to various
categories of software (distro, package, etc), and then when apt is
figuring out how to meet your request it will use this to determine the
correct version of a package to install.

It is explained well in the "APT-HOWTO" and the "Debian Reference",
which cover common uses. But I think one of those things that looks
bewildering till you've understood a bit more of how "apt" works, and
then when you have all the concepts together, you come back to it and go
"oh yeah - how did I not understand it before".

The only thing that isn't immediately explicit in the config file, is
that pin priorities change magically at 1000, from a "suggestion" to a
"command".

For backports it doesn't matter, they give explicit instructions on what
to add to the APT config on a Sarge box to make the magic happen.

http://www.backports.org/instructions.html

I don't use pinning much, there isn't much need, the last use I made of
it was to back out a messed up Debian Sid upgrade, but that is par for
the course in Sid.

-
The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG
Mail majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe list" in the
message body to unsubscribe. FAQ: www.dcglug.org.uk/linux_adm/list-faq.html