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<html><head>
<title>swim - QUERYING THE INSTALLED AND NOT-INSTALLED DATABASES
</title>
<link rev=made href="mailto:mttrader@access.mountain.net">
</head><body>
<h1>
swim - chapter 9<br>
QUERYING THE INSTALLED AND NOT-INSTALLED DATABASES
</h1>
<pre>usage: swim -q [-fpgn --dir] [targets | -S]
swim --query [-fpgn --dir] [targets | -S]
swim -qa || swim --query -a </pre>
<P>
<pre>options: [--total -t] [-i] [-l ? &lt;[--df]&gt;] [-d] [-c]
[--scripts] [--preinst] [--postinst] [--prerm]
[--postrm] [-v] [--dbpath &lt;dir&gt;] [--menu -m]
[--shlibs] [-T] [--pre_depends] [--depends]
[--recommends] [--suggests] [--conflicts]
[--replaces] [--provides] [--md5sum] [--root &lt;dir&gt;]
[--copyright] [--changelog] [--allgroups]
[--arch &lt;architecture&gt;] [--dists &lt;distribution&gt;]
[--ftp ? --source | --source_only ? &lt;[--diff]&gt;]
[--stdin] [--extract] &lt;ALL|archive|PWD!archive&gt;]
[-xyrz --remove ? &lt;[--nz]&gt;] [--purge] [--apt2df]
[--df2apt] </pre><P>
global arguments: <strong>[targets | -S ? &lt;\d{1,}&gt;]</strong>
<P>
Quering almost always involves using <strong>-q or --query</strong> with
zero or one or a combination of the <strong>minor mode options</strong>
(package specification options), and one or more (only one for
<code>-g</code>) targets specific to the minor mode, or the results of a
search (<code>-S</code>). [<code>-S</code> can be provided a numerical argument
pertaining to the past history.] This can be combined with one or more
options. The one exception is ``<strong>swim -q --allgroups</strong>''.
<P>
<strong>--query or -q</strong> can be used by itself or with
<strong>-n</strong> to query known package names or package names with
versions. ``<strong>swim -q test1 test2_0.3-1</strong>'' would produce the
output:
<P>
<pre>test1_1.0-2
test2_0.3-1</pre>
<hr>
<h2><A name="s-mm">
9.1 MINOR MODES
</A></h2>
<strong>-n</strong> is the minor mode option to access the
<em>not-installed system</em>, it can be combined with the minor mode
options <strong>-a</strong>, <strong>-g</strong>, <strong>-f</strong>, or
it can be used by itself.
<P>
<strong>-a</strong> allows <em>every package</em> on an installed or
not-installed (<strong>-n</strong>) system to be queried. ``<strong>swim
-qan</strong>'' will show all the package names with versions for the
not-installed system
<P>
<strong>-f</strong> allows <em>files or directories</em> to be queried,
when used without any options the package name with version is shown.
<strong>--dir</strong> will only query directories, this is useful if you
are not sure whether what you are quering is a directory or a file. When a
directory is queried, swim shows all packages which exist below the
queried directory. ``<strong>swim -qf /</strong>'' is exactly the same as
``<strong>swim -qa</strong>''. Hint: ``<strong>swim -qf .</strong>'' and
``<strong>swim -qf *</strong>'' are quite different, the first shows all
packages which exist below the current directory, and the second will show
the package which each file in the current directory comes from.
<P>
<strong>-g</strong> will query a <em>group</em> (also called a section,
see <A href="#s-section">SECTION AND PRIORITY
, subsection 9.5.3</A>)) of packages. Groups represent subjects which
packages with similiar characteristics are catagorized by. To view all the
groups found in an installed or not-installed system use ``<strong>swim -q
--allgroups</strong>'' or ``<strong>swim -qn --allgroups</strong>''.
``<strong>swim -qg hamradio</strong>'' or ``<strong>swim -qng
hamradio</strong>'' shows all the package names for the hamradio group.
<P>
<strong>-p</strong> is used to query a <em>Debian package</em>, these
packages are distinguished by their ``deb'' ending, but swim can
tell whether a file is a debian package even without the ending. Called
without any options the package name with version will be shown.
<hr>
<h2><A name="s-specdata">
9.2 SPECIFYING THE DATABASES TO USE
</A></h2>
<strong>--dists</strong> will use the databases for the argument
given, otherwise the databases pertaining to the value found in swimrc
will be used.
<P>
<strong>--arch</strong> will use the databases for the argument given,
otherwise the databases pertaining to the value found in swimrc will be
used.
<P>
Example: <strong>swim -qat --arch hurd-i386 --dists unstable</strong>
<P>
Assuming these databases exist this will show all packages and their
versions for the unstable distribution and architecture hurd-i386 even if
the values in <em>swimrc</em> are i386 and stable.
<P>
see <A href="ch-important.html#s-downimportant">A. downloading the important databases with --ftp.
, section 6.1</A> and <A href="ch-notinstalled.html">MAKING NOT-INSTALLED DATABASES
, chapter 7</A> for more
information about the databases.
<hr>
<h2><A name="s9.3">
9.3 OPTIONS
</A></h2>
<strong>--total or -t</strong> are <em>used to override the output
suppressor</em>. The output suppressor will not show output if a certain
number of packages is exceeded, instead it will show the number of
packages you are querying. This is useful for two reasons, first, knowing
the number of packages you are quering can be very informative, second, it
gives you a chance to add to the command line a pipe to a pager, ex:
``<strong>swim -qat | less</strong>''. You can set the number that the
output suppressor works at as high or low as you want in the
<em>swimrc(8)</em> file. By design the <strong>-t</strong> option will
have to be used if the <strong>-i</strong> option is used and more than
one package is being queried. This option can also be used to alter the
output of the various script options (--scripts, --preinst, --postinst,
--prerm, and --postrm).
<P>
<strong>-i</strong> provides <em>information</em> about each package being
queried. The format differs slightly for the installed packages versus the
not-installed packages. see <A href="#s-format">FORMAT
, section 9.5</A>:
<P>
<strong>-l</strong> provides a listing of the files associated with a
package. If the option <strong>--df</strong> is provided as an argument,
all the directories associated with package will be shown. It is important
to remember that many packages provide directories which become important
to them after they are installed, so the option <strong>--df</strong>
often provides necessary information which <strong>-l</strong> called by
itself would have not.
<P>
<strong>-d</strong> shows the documentation which the package provides
found in <em>/usr/doc/*</em>, <em>/usr/man/*</em>, <em>/usr/info/*</em>.
Other documentation which the package may provide in a non-standard
location will not be shown. <strong>-d</strong> takes precedence over
<strong>-l</strong>, so if <strong>-l</strong> is used on the command line
with <strong>-d</strong>, only the output for <strong>-d</strong> will be
shown.
<P>
<strong>-v</strong> is a special option which works only with the minor
mode <strong>-p</strong>. It can be used with <strong>-l</strong>,
<strong>--df</strong>, <strong>-d</strong>, to show the packages files
and/or directories in long format (<code>ls -
l</code>).
<P>
<strong>-c</strong> will show the configuration files packages use. If the
package does not have a configuration file then nothing will be shown. The
output will show the file and its path indented one space with the
<strong>MD5 checksum</strong>. This will not work with
<strong>-n</strong>.
<P>
<strong>--scripts</strong> shows all scripts associated with a package
with the name of the script presented before each script in this way
<strong>#####scriptname######</strong>. If the scripts are called
individually by using the script options <strong>--preinst</strong>,
<strong>--postinst</strong>, <strong>--prerm</strong>, or
<strong>--postrm</strong> no title is shown, this is nice for writing to a
file. If <strong>-t</strong> is used with the individual script options a
title will be shown, this makes sense because normally only individual
packages would be queried to write a script to a file, and
<strong>-t</strong> wouldn't be used in this situation. Scripts are the
soul of Debianized packages allowing packages to be installed, configured,
and removed seamlessly and cleanly under all kinds of conditions. These
options do no work with <strong>-n</strong>.
<P>
<strong>--menu or -m</strong> is used to view menufiles which belong to
various packages. If the package does not have a menufile nothing will be
shown. This option can be useful in troubleshooting a menu entry which
does not seem to work, or in finding out where the menu entry is.
<em>Joost Witteveen's Debian menu system</em> is a centralized program
which interacts with all kinds of menus. <em>Please read the
documentation</em> ``<strong>swim -qd menu</strong>'' which comes with the
menu package to find out more. This will not work with
<strong>-n</strong>.
<P>
<strong>--shlibs</strong> shows a list of shared libraries certain
packages supply. The <em>Debian Packaging Manual</em> (packaging-manual)
provides detailed information about the format of a shlibs file. This will
not work with <strong>-n</strong>.
<P>
<strong>--md5sum</strong> checks <strong>MD5 checksums</strong>. It can be
used with <strong>-l</strong>, <strong>-d</strong>, <strong>-c</strong>,
or <strong>-p</strong>. If there are checksums available the md5sum result
will be either <strong>OK</strong>, <strong>FAILED</strong>, or
<strong>MISSING</strong>. <strong>MISSING</strong> means that although a
checksum exists, the file can not be found. The result is put after the
file and its path and the <strong>MD5 checksum</strong> or the package
name and version and the <strong>MD5 checksum</strong>.
<P>
<strong>--copyright</strong> does a case insensitive search for copy or
license in the <em>/usr/doc/packagename</em> directory. This should show
how the package relates to <em>Debian's Policy Manual</em>.
<P>
<strong>--changelog</strong> searches for any files in
<em>/usr/doc/packagename</em> which look like changelogs. Debian packages
always have a <em>Maintainer's</em> changelog for the package. There may
be a separate changelog kept by the author of the program.
<hr>
<h2><A name="s9.4">
9.4 PACKAGE RELATIONSHIPS
</A></h2>
<strong>-T</strong> shows all the package relationships of packages.
Individual package relationships can be viewed using
<strong>--pre_depends</strong>, <strong>--depends</strong>,
<strong>--recommends</strong>, <strong>--suggests</strong>,
<strong>--replaces</strong>, <strong>--conflicts</strong> or
<strong>--provides</strong>. Package relationships are the spirit of
Debian packages, here is a quick overview briefly reiterating what can be
found in the <em>Debian Packaging Manual</em>. <em>Package
Maintainers</em> set these relationships in control file fields of the
same name.
<P>
<strong>Dependencies</strong>
<em>Pre-depends</em> - means that the pre-depended package or packages
must be installed before the queried package can be installed. Most
packages which have pre-dependencies are usually essential and required
packages.
<P>
<em>Depends</em> - declares an absolute dependency to another package or
packages either <em>real or virtual</em>. The queried package cannot
function without this other package.
<P>
<em>Recommends</em> - declares a strong, but not absolute dependency to
another package or packages either <em>real or virtual</em>. You would
usually find the recommended package together with the queried package in
a normal installation.
<P>
<em>Suggests</em> - can be one or more packages either <em>real or
virtual</em> which would be useful to the queried package, but are not
necessary.
<strong>Alternative Packages</strong>
<P>
<em>Conflicts</em> - is a package or packages either <em>real or
virtual</em> which would cause problems with the queried package, and
would not be allowed to be installed while the queried package was
installed.
<P>
<strong>Overwriting files and Replacing Packages</strong>
<P>
<em>Replaces</em> - allows the queried package to replace another package
or packages by overwriting their files, after which the previous package
would be considered to have disappeared. Essentially this allows the
queried package to take over the package or packages. In a situation where
there was a Conflict between the queried package and these packages this
field would help determine which packages should be removed.
<P>
<strong>Virtual Packages</strong>
<P>
<em>Provides</em> - declares a virtual package which may be mentioned in
<em>Depends</em>, <em>Recommends</em>, <em>Suggests</em>, or
<em>Conflicts</em>. <em>Virtual packages</em> allow one or more packages
to share the same name of another package, which means if the queried
package has a reference to a virtual package in one of the before
mentioned package relationship fields, then whatever packages provide the
virtual package are also being listed.
<hr>
<h2><A name="s-format">
9.5 FORMAT
</A></h2>
<strong>1). Installed system</strong>
<P>
<pre> Package: name Status: hold ok installed
Version: 1.1-1 Essential: no
Section: namers Priority: extra
Installed-Size: 10 Source: generatename (2.0-1)
Maintainer: name &lt;name@name.org&gt;
Description: hostname maker
A nice way to figure out a hostname nobody
else has.</pre>
<P>
<strong>2) Not-installed system</strong>
<P>
<pre> Package: name Status: r&gt; hold ok installed (1.1-1)
Version: 1.1-2 Essential: no
Section: names Priority: extra
Installed-Size: 11 Source: generatename (2.0-1)
Size: 43000 Architecture: i386
Distribution: experimental
Maintainer: name &lt;name@name.org&gt;
Description: hostname maker
A nice way to figure out a hostname nobody
else has.</pre>
<P>
There are several things to point out. The difference between the two
outputs relates to the addition of the Distribution, Size, and
Architecture fields for the not-installed query. Installed-Size is how
many kilobytes the package will occupy when it is unpacked, whereas Size
is the size in bytes of the package.
<hr>
<h3><A name="s9.5.1">
9.5.1 STATUS FIELD
</A></h3>
The Status field provides the installation status of the package, this
holds true for the not-installed query as well. In a sense, the
not-installed database isn't always not-installed. If the not-installed
package is actually already installed, and the version numbers are exactly
the same, then the status will be the same for either query. If the
not-installed package is not installed then the status will be
``not-installed''. In cases where the not-installed package is already
installed, swim uses it's comparison function to figure out whether it is
a newer of older package which is installed. In the above example, swim
realizes the same package is installed, and only the debian-revision has
changed, hence the only difference is that the revision number is greater
``r&gt;'' for the not-installed package. When only the debian-revision has
changed it can safely be assumed that the author (creator, programmer) of
the same program has not made any changes to the same program, but the
Debian maintainer has made a change to an aspect of the package like a
change in the script the package uses to properly install. You may have
also noticed that the status field shows the version number of the
installed package enclosed in parenthesis.
<hr>
<h3><A name="s9.5.2">
9.5.2 SOURCE FIELD
</A></h3>
The Source field is present in these examples, but the Source field will
not always be present for packages. In cases where the name of the source
package is the same as the the name found in the Package field, and the
version number of the source package is also the same as found in the
Version field, then there will be no Source field. In the above examples
there is a Source field. In this case name was probably one of many
packages generated from the source package called generatename. In this
particular example generatename also has its own unique version number
2.0-1 enclosed in parentheses, if no version number had been mentioned
then the source package would have the same version number as found in the
Version field.
<hr>
<h3><A name="s-section">
9.5.3 SECTION AND PRIORITY
</A></h3>
Section shows the subject which a package is categorized with (see
<code>-g</code>). Priority shows how important the package is to have
installed. In the case of the not-installed databases the information for
these fields is almost always available from the Packages databases, but
this is not always the case for Debian packages. For packages which do no
provide this information swim will do its best to fill in the blanks from
information found in the installed and not-installed databases. If proper
information can not be found it will be indicated as ``unavailable'' or
``unknown.'' Unavailable would indicate that information about the package
exists, but it is from a different version (includes debian-revision), and
no information exists for this version. Unknown means no similiar package
exists, and there is absolutely no information about this package in the
databases.
<P>
When a Debian package is queried using the <strong>-p</strong>
option you will get output like the first example shows, the status field
is also calculated.
<hr>
<h2><A name="s-vrftp">
9.6 FTP - VIRTUAL OPTIONS
</A></h2>
For ftp capabilities swim uses the <em>swimz.list</em> to determine which
sites it will check for the requested packages. The first site which fills
the request will be used, otherwise <strong>swim</strong> will go through
all the sites avoiding repeats, and if no sites can fill the request,
<strong>swim</strong> will either quit or proceed on to check for another
request.
<P>
<strong>--ftp</strong> allows the queried package, its source package, or
just the source package diff to be downloaded while being queried. This is
refered to as virtual downloading because the quering and the downloading
are seamless as though the package already exists locally. This has to be
used with the option <strong>-n</strong> because packages which which are
not part of the not-installed database are considered to already have been
downloaded. Packages which are already installed can be downloaded or
their source retrieved by setting up a database which corresponds to these
packages; if the installed packages belong to the stable distribution,
set-up the not-installed stable databases.
<P>
Packages or source code are placed in an area below the default directory
mirroring the remote directory they were downloaded from after their size
and modification times are checked for correct values. This area is called
the <strong>DF</strong> directory, and although this directory mirrors
remote directories, it is not an exact mirror, but specific to the
requirements of swim because code names for Release versions are not taken
into account. For real mirroring capabilities there exist many excellent
programs. If a package has a <strong>MD5 checksum</strong>,
<strong>--md5sum</strong> will automatically be run and the value shown.
Regardless of whether or not the md5sum check is <strong>OK</strong> or
not, the package will still be put in the <strong>DF</strong> directory to
allow the package to be looked at, so watch the output from
<strong>--ftp</strong> to check for <strong>FAILED md5sums</strong>.
<P>
Packages or source code packages will not be downloaded again if they are
found in the <strong>DF</strong> directory unless their
<em>upstream-version</em> has changed in the not-installed database, if
the packages are not in the DF directory and the remote
<em>upstream-version</em> is different than the not-installed
<em>upstream-version</em> then the packages will not be downloaded until
the not-installed database is updated or rebuilt to reflect the version
change. Changes in the package's <em>upstream-version</em> indicates that
the <code>author(s)</code> of the program have made changes to the computer
code for the program contained in the package or the source code package.
On the other hand, swim will check for a <em>debian-revision</em> change
at the remote site if the package can not immediately be found. If the
package's <em>debian-revision</em> has changed and the package does not
exist locally in the <strong>DF</strong> directory, it will be downloaded.
This is a nice feature, especially for the unstable distribution, because
it tends to extend the time needed before the not-installed database has
to be updated or rebuilt to match the changes at remote sites.
<P>
<strong>--source</strong> is used with <strong>--ftp</strong> to download
the source code package. <strong>--source_only</strong> will download the
source code package without the deb package. <em>Source packages consist
of three files</em>. The <em>source control file</em> which ends in
``dsc'', the <em>original source archive</em> which is a compressed tar
file, and the <em>unified context diff</em> showing the changes necessary
to make the original source into Debian source. The diff can be downloaded
by itself if <strong>--diff</strong> is provided as an argument to
<strong>--source or --source_only</strong>.
<P>
For <strong>apt</strong> users: <strong>apt</strong> allows packages to be
downloaded, but if more than one package is required for the package
relationships to be proper, <strong>apt</strong> will download all these
packages. <strong>--ftp</strong> allows specific packages to be
downloaded, packages from other architectures, and source packages to be
downloaded, here lies the advantage of this option over using <strong>-xyz
--nz</strong> (see below). If a particular package has been dowloaded into
the <strong>DF</strong> directory and it is needed by <strong>apt</strong>
for installation, simply copy or move the package from the
<strong>DF</strong> directory to <em>/var/cache/apt/archives</em> before
running <strong>apt</strong>, and the package will not be downloaded by
<strong>apt</strong> again; future versions of <strong>swim</strong> will
have an option to automatically accomplish this (see <code>--df2apt</code>).
<hr>
<h2><A name="s-vrapt">
9.7 APT - VIRTUAL OPTIONS
</A></h2>
apt-get(8) is a nice package relationship checker from the
<strong>apt</strong> package which figures out what needs to be done to
properly install a package or packages when one or more package names are
provided to it. <strong>apt-get</strong> will get all packages which are
needed using a variety of methods, and then <strong>apt-get</strong>
interacts with <strong>dpkg</strong> in a way which allows for a
successful installation.
<P>
<strong>-xyrz, --remove, and --nz</strong> can be used if
<strong>apt-get</strong> from the <strong>apt</strong> package is
installed. These options allow for what is refered to as virtual
installation/removal. It is prudent to always test what will happen by
using the <strong>-x</strong> option alone before actually proceeding with
the installation with the <strong>-z</strong> option. <strong>-x</strong>
will actually simulate what would happen in an installation, showing which
and how many packages will be changed, which and how many new packages
will need to be installed, which and how many packages will need to be
removed, any conflicts, and what needs to be configured.
<strong>-y</strong> will automatically answer yes to any prompts
<strong>apt-get</strong> may produce allowing <strong>apt-get</strong> to
run non-interactively. <strong>-z</strong> as mentioned before actually
proceeds with the installation using <strong>dpkg</strong> after the
<strong>apt-get</strong> gets the packages. You can append a minus sign
to a package name to cause it to be removed. <strong>--nz</strong> when
used as an optional argument with <strong>-xz or -xyz</strong> will only
download the packages into <em>/var/cache/apt/archives</em> or into
whatever directory you configured for holding archives for
<strong>apt</strong>.
<P>
<strong>IMPORTANT</strong>: <strong>apt</strong> makes it so easy to make
changes to your installation that it is highly recommended to do your
research with swim first. This can be done by checking package
relationships, file/dir listings, comparing the not-installed package to
an installed package if such exists, checking <strong>--md5sum</strong>
and <strong>-c</strong> for the installed package, and checking the Source
field by running a <strong>--search</strong> (see <A href="ch-search.html">SEARCHING
, chapter 11</A>) to
check to see how the source package has been split into binary packages
for the not-installed package versus an installed package if such exists.
Ofcourse, there are many other things you could look at, and you can
always do your research after the fact. Presently <strong>--db</strong> is
run only by hand, so you can check the old state after an installation if
you have not already run <strong>--db</strong>, yourself.
<hr>
<h2><A name="s-vrrm">
9.8 REMOVING AN INSTALLED PACKAGE - VIRTUAL OPTIONS
</A></h2>
<strong>--purge</strong> uses <strong>dpkg</strong> to remove an installed
package or packages and the configuration files as shown with
``<strong>swim -qc packagename</strong>''.
<P>
<strong>-r or --remove</strong> removes an installed package or packages
with <strong>apt</strong>, but not the configuration files as shown with
``<strong>swim -qc packagename</strong>''. You may also append a plus
sign to a package name to cause it to be installed. This option is used
with -x or -x(y)z.
<hr>
<h2><A name="s9.9">
9.9 STDIN - VIRTUAL OPTIONS
</A></h2>
<strong>--stdin</strong> works with either <strong>--ftp</strong>,
<strong>-x</strong>, <strong>-xyz</strong>, <strong>-xz</strong>,
<strong>--purge</strong>, <strong>-r</strong>, or
<strong>--remove</strong>.
<P>
<strong>--stdin</strong> provides the <em>readline capabilities</em>
commonly found in shells allowing you to edit what is on the command line.
You can edit the command line, press enter and then recall the history,
and make more changes, or <em>type in exit to process the changed or
unchanged command line</em>. To find out more about what readline commands
your shell supports please read the man pages which apply to your shell.
Information for the bash shell can be found in <code>bash(1)</code> under the
title ``<strong>Readline Command Names</strong>''.
<P>
Example: ``<strong>swim -qgnx --stdin hamradio</strong>'' will list all
the packages from the not-installed hamradio group on the command line,
this list can be edited then submitted to <strong>apt-get</strong> for a
simulated installation. Another instance of <strong>swim</strong> can be
run at the same time, perhaps ``<strong>swim -qinTg hamradio</strong>'' to
help in making editing decisions for <strong>--stdin</strong>.
<hr>
<h2><A name="s9.10">
9.10 PACKAGE MANIPULATION - VIRTUAL OPTIONS
</A></h2>
<strong>--extract</strong> only works with the <strong>minor mode
-p</strong> to extract parts or all of a Debian package. If the
<strong>argument ALL</strong> is provided then <em>everything found in the
package will be extracted</em> below the current directory in the exact
directories found in the package. A particular <em>file may be extracted
in its exact location</em> below the current directory by <em>entering the
exact path for the file</em> as shown by ``<strong>swim -qpl</strong>'' or
``<strong>swim -qpd</strong>'' as the argument. Alternativily, a <em>file
may be extracted in the current directory</em> regardless of its proper
location by <em>prepending PWD\! before the path</em> shown by
``<strong>swim -qpl</strong>'' or ``<strong>swim -qpd</strong>''. Notice
the backslash before the exclamation point, this is because shells
consider ! a special character, so it has to be backslashed so that the
shell knows that it is not such a special character. Example:
``<strong>swim -qpi --extract PWD\!usr/bin/name --scripts
name_1.1-2.deb</strong>'' will extract the binary name in the current
directory from the name package, show information for the name package,
and show any scripts for the name package.
<hr>
<h2><A name="s-dblocus">
9.11 DATABASE LOCATIONS
</A></h2>
<strong>--dbpath</strong> can be specified as an alternative location for
where the databases would be found. The default location is
``<em>/var/lib/dpkg</em>''. An argument like ``<em>/otherstuff</em>'' can
be provided, and then the databases would be found here instead.
<P>
<strong>--root</strong> allows a database to be found for a Debian
distribution installed on a different partition. If the distribution is
mounted on <em>/New_Debian</em>, ``<em>/New_Debian</em>'' would be the
argument to root. The databases would be found for the Debian distribution
installed on the ``<em>/New_Debian</em>'' partition.
<P>
<strong>--dbpath and --root</strong> can be used together. Given the
previous two examples, the databases would be found on
``<em>/New_Debian/otherstuff</em>'', assuming
``<em>/New_Debian/otherstuff</em>'' actually existed.
<hr>
swim
- <A href="index.html#copyright">
Copyright <20> 1999 Jonathan D. Rosenbaum
</A>
<br>
<A href="index.html#toc">Contents</A>; <A href="ch10.html">next</A>; <A href="ch-aptprep.html">back</A>.
<br>
<address>15 June 1999<br>
Jonathan D. Rosenbaum<A href="mailto:mttrader@access.mountain.net">mttrader@access.mountain.net</A></address>
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