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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><title>What is a package manager?</title><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="aptitude.css" /><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.79.1" /><link rel="home" href="index.html" title="aptitude user's manual" /><link rel="up" href="pr01.html" title="Introduction" /><link rel="prev" href="pr01s01.html" title="What is this aptitude thing, anyway?" /><link rel="next" href="pr01s03.html" title="What is the apt system?" /><link rel="preface" href="pr01.html" title="Introduction" /><link rel="chapter" href="ch01.html" title="Chapter 1. Getting started" /><link rel="chapter" href="ch02.html" title="Chapter 2. aptitude reference guide" /><link rel="chapter" href="ch03.html" title="Chapter 3. aptitude frequently asked questions" /><link rel="chapter" href="ch04.html" title="Chapter 4. Credits" /><link rel="reference" href="rn01.html" title="Command-line reference" /><link rel="refentry" href="rn01re01.html" title="aptitude" /><link rel="refentry" href="rn01re02.html" title="aptitude-create-state-bundle" /><link rel="refentry" href="rn01re03.html" title="aptitude-run-state-bundle" /></head><body><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="3" align="center">What is a package manager?</th></tr><tr><td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="pr01s01.html"><img src="images/prev.gif" alt="Prev" /></a> </td><th width="60%" align="center">Introduction</th><td width="20%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="pr01s03.html"><img src="images/next.gif" alt="Next" /></a></td></tr></table><hr /></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="idm53"></a>What is a package manager?</h2></div></div></div><p>
A <em class="firstterm">package manager</em> keeps track of what
software is installed on your computer, and allows you to easily
install new software, upgrade software to newer versions, or
remove software that you previously installed. As the name
suggests, package managers deal with
<em class="firstterm">packages</em>: collections of files that are
bundled together and can be installed and removed as a group.
</p><p>
Often, a package is just a particular program. For instance,
the instant messaging client <span class="command"><strong>gaim</strong></span> is
contained in the Debian package of the same name. On the other
hand, it is common for programs to consist of several
interrelated packages. For instance, the
<span class="command"><strong>gimp</strong></span> image editor consists not only of the
<code class="systemitem">gimp</code> package, but also of the
<code class="systemitem">gimp-data</code> package; in addition, several
optional add-on packages (containing esoteric data,
documentation, and so on) are also available. It is also
possible for several small, related programs to be contained in
a single package: for instance, the
<code class="systemitem">fileutils</code> package contains several
common Unix commands, such as <span class="command"><strong>ls</strong></span>,
<span class="command"><strong>cp</strong></span>, etc.
</p><p>
Some packages require other packages in order to function. In
Debian, packages can <em class="firstterm">depend</em> upon,
<em class="firstterm">recommend</em>,
<em class="firstterm">suggest</em>,
<em class="firstterm">break</em>, or
<em class="firstterm">conflict</em> with other packages.
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
If a package A depends upon another package B, then B is
required for A to operate properly. For instance, the
<code class="systemitem">gimp</code> package depends upon the
<code class="systemitem">gimp-data</code> package in order to
ensure that the <a class="ulink" href="http://www.gimp.org" target="_top">GIMP</a> graphics editor can
access its critical data files.
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
If a package A recommends another package B, then B provides
important additional functionality to A that will be desired
in most circumstances. For instance, the
<code class="systemitem">mozilla-browser</code> package recommends
the <code class="systemitem">mozilla-psm</code> package, which adds
support for secure data transfers to the <a class="ulink" href="http://www.mozilla.org" target="_top">Mozilla</a> Web browser.
While <code class="systemitem">mozilla-psm</code> is not strictly
required for Mozilla to function, most users will want
Mozilla to support the secure transmission of confidential
data (such as credit card numbers).
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
If a package A suggests another package B, then package B
provides functionality that may enhance A, but is not needed
in most cases. For instance, the
<code class="systemitem">kmail</code> package suggests the
<code class="systemitem">gnupg</code> package, which contains
encryption software that can be used by <a class="ulink" href="http://kmail.kde.org/" target="_top">KMail</a>.
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
If a package A conflicts with another package B, then the
two packages cannot be installed at the same time. For
instance, <code class="systemitem">fb-music-hi</code> conflicts
with <code class="systemitem">fb-music-low</code> because they
provide alternate sets of music for the game <a class="ulink" href="http://www.frozen-bubble.org" target="_top">Frozen Bubble</a>.
</p></li></ul></div><p>
The job of a package manager is to present an interface which
assists the user in managing the collection of packages
installed on his or her system. <span class="command"><strong>aptitude</strong></span> provides such an
interface by building on the <code class="systemitem">apt</code> package management system.
</p></div><div class="navfooter"><hr /><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="pr01s01.html"><img src="images/prev.gif" alt="Prev" /></a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="pr01.html"><img src="images/up.gif" alt="Up" /></a></td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="pr01s03.html"><img src="images/next.gif" alt="Next" /></a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">What is this aptitude thing, anyway? </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html"><img src="images/home.gif" alt="Home" /></a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> What is the <code class="systemitem">apt</code> system?</td></tr></table></div></body></html>
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