#695205 apt-file: Should provide a wrapper to install the found package

Package:
apt-file
Source:
apt-file
Submitter:
Ole Tange
Date:
2012-12-08 15:09:11 UTC
Severity:
wishlist
#695205#5
Date:
2012-12-05 12:59:33 UTC
From:
To:
I often experience some program depend on a file. I then have to
locate which package may contain the file and then install the
package.

It looks like this:

$ foo
Could not load library: libglut.so.3: cannot open shared object file:
No such file or directory.
$ apt-file search libglut.so.3
freeglut3: /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libglut.so.3
freeglut3: /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libglut.so.3.9.0
$ sudo aptitude install freeglut3

It would be nice if I did not have to go through apt-file to locate
the package, but that I instead simply could do:

$ sudo aptitude install libglut.so.3

If multiple packages contain libglut.so.3 then aptitude should ask me
to select one of them.


/Ole
#695205#10
Date:
2012-12-08 02:53:55 UTC
From:
To:
Clear and concise.  No confusion over what you meant with /these/ commands.

Whats that?  Is the argument a package name, some missing file you
like, something else?  This is no longer clear.

Thanks for the suggestion.  It does not improve on the situation
significantly to justify having more complex features of aptitude to
maintain.  The existing composition of tools is short, clear, and
provides a well-defined separation of concerns; these are all ideal
qualities.

Leaving the report open for comment.  It will be closed in the near future.

Regards
#695205#17
Date:
2012-12-08 13:25:18 UTC
From:
To:
reassign 695205 apt-file
unblock 695205 by 695436
retitle 695205 apt-file: Should provide a wrapper to install the found package
kthxbye

Hi,

Daniel Hartwig wrote:

That's what I thought, too. Nevertheless I think the idea in general
is not so bad.

A more clear situation would provide a sub command named e.g.
"fileinstall".

But despite it sounds simple, I think this is quite complex to
integrate in aptitude. But it could be easily implemented as a wrapper
around apt-file and apt-get/aptitude.

And since it needs apt-file anyway (pointless to implement that
functionality a second time), but may be used with aptitude as well as
apt-get, I think it's better if such a wrapper script (named e.g.
apt-file-install) is included in the apt-file package.

Actually http://bugs.debian.org/408379 already covers the download
part as wrapper script. It should be easy to change the script to
install the package instead.

Reassigning to apt-file hence.

		Regards, Axel
#695205#30
Date:
2012-12-08 15:08:05 UTC
From:
To:
Quite right, any support for this in aptitude would only wrap
apt-file.  I'd still rather see this implemented elsewhere.