Linux Administration/Installation/Debian Packages

This lesson covers Debian package manager software.

Objectives and Skills
Objectives and skills for the Debian packages portion of Linux+ certification include:
 * Use Debian package management
 * Install, upgrade and uninstall Debian binary packages
 * Find packages containing specific files or libraries that may or may not be installed
 * Obtain package information such as version, content, dependencies, package integrity and installation status (whether or not the package is installed)
 * The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:
 * /etc/apt/sources.list
 * dpkg
 * dpkg-reconfigure
 * apt-get
 * apt-cache
 * aptitude

Readings

 * 1)  deb (file format)
 * 2)  dpkg
 * 3)  APT (Debian)
 * 4)  aptitude (software)

Activities

 * 1) Complete the tutorial IBM: Learn Linux, 101: Debian package management

Lesson Summary

 * Advanced Package Tool, or APT, is a free-software user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on Debian, Ubuntu, and related Linux distributions.
 * is used to re-synchronize the package index files from their sources.
 * is used to install the newest versions of all packages currently installed on the system from the sources enumerated in /etc/apt/sources.list.
 * Performs smart upgrade with dependency conflict resolution.
 * installs listed packages.
 * removes listed packages.
 * searches and generates package metadata.
 * displays package information and reverse dependencies.
 * lists all packages installed on a system.
 * lists the files installed by a given package.
 * lists the package that installed a given file.
 * installs a local .deb file.
 * packs, unpacks and provides information about Debian archives.
 * was the primary user interface for installing, removing and managing Debian packages. It is the traditional front-end to dpkg.