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.\" Hey, Emacs! This is an -*- nroff -*- source file.
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.\" Author: Raul Miller
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.\" Includes text from the debian Guidelines by Ian Jackson, Ian Murdock
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-.TH DEB-CONTROL 5 "29th November 1995" "Debian Project" "Debian GNU/Linux"
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+.TH DEB-CONTROL 5 "January 2000" "Debian Project" "Debian GNU/Linux"
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.SH NAME
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deb\-control \- Debian GNU/Linux packages' master control file format
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.SH SYNOPSIS
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control
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.SH DESCRIPTION
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-Master control file format:
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-.LP
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-The `control' file contains a number of fields. Each field begins
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-with a tag, such as
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+Each Debian package contains the master `control' file, which contains
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+a number of fields. Each field begins with a tag, such as
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.B Package
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or
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.B Version
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-(case insensitive),
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-followed by a colon, and the body of the field. Fields are delimited
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-only by field tags. In other words, field text may be multiple lines
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-in length, but the installation tools will generally join lines when
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-processing the body of the field (except in the case of the
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+(case insensitive), followed by a colon, and the body of the field.
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+Fields are delimited only by field tags. In other words, field text
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+may be multiple lines in length, but the installation tools will
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+generally join lines when processing the body of the field (except
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+in the case of the
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.B Description
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field, see below).
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.SH REQUIRED FIELDS
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.TP
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-.BR Package: \ <package\ name>
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-The value of this field is used to generate file names by some
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-installation tools.
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+.BR "Package: " "<package name>"
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+The value of this field determines the package name, and is used to
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+generate file names by most installation tools.
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.TP
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-.BR Version: \ <version\ string>
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-Typically, this is the original portable package's version
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-number in whatever form the program's author uses. It may also include
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-a Debian revision number (for non-native packages). If both version and
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-revision are supplied, they are seperated by a '-'. For this reason,
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-the original version cannot have a '-' in its version number.
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+.BR "Version: " "<version string>"
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+Typically, this is the original package's version number in whatever form
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+the program's author uses. It may also include a Debian revision number
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+(for non-native packages). If both version and revision are supplied,
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+they are seperated by a hyphen, `-'. For this reason, the original version
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+may not have a hyphen in its version number.
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.TP
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-.BR Maintainer: \ <fullname\ email>
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+.BR "Maintainer: " "<fullname email>"
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Should be in the format `Joe Bloggs <jbloggs@foo.com>', and is typically
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-the person who created the package as opposed to the author of the
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-software that was packages.
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+the person who created the package, as opposed to the author of the
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+software that was packaged.
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.TP
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-.BR Description: \ <package\ description>
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+.BR "Description: " "<short description>"
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+.BR " " "<long description>"
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+.br
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The format for the package description is a short brief summary on the
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first line (after the "Description" field). The following lines can be
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used as a longer, more detailed description. Each line of the long description
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@@ -47,75 +47,72 @@ must be preceded by a space, and blank lines in the long desription must
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contain a single '.' following the preceding space.
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.SH OPTIONAL FIELDS
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.TP
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-.BR Section: \ <section>
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-This is a general field that gives the package a category based on the software
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-that it installs. Some common sections are `mail', `text' and `new'.
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+.BR "Section: " "<section>"
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+This is a general field that gives the package a category based on the
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+software that it installs. Some common sections are `utils', `net',
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+`mail', `text', `x11' etc.
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.TP
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-.BR Priority: \ <priority>
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-Sets the importance of this package in relation to the system as a whole. Common
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-priorities are `base', `standard' and `optional'.
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+.BR "Priority: " "<priority>"
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+Sets the importance of this package in relation to the system as a whole.
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+Common priorities are `required', `standard', `optional', `extra' etc.
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.LP
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In Debian, the
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.B Section
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and
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.B Priority
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-fields have a defined set of accepted values based on policy. They are used to
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-decide how the packages are layed out in the archive. A list of these can be
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-obtained from the latest
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+fields have a defined set of accepted values based on the Policy Manual.
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+They are used to decide how the packages are layed out in the archive.
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+A list of these can be obtained from the latest version of
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.B debian-policy
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package.
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.TP
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-.BR Essential: \ <yes|no>
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-This field is usually only needed when the answer is `yes'. It denotes a
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-package that is required for proper operation of the system. Dpkg will not
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-allow this an
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+.BR "Essential: " "<yes|no>"
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+This field is usually only needed when the answer is `yes'. It denotes
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+a package that is required for proper operation of the system. Dpkg
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+or any other installation tool will not allow an
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.B Essential
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-package to be removed without using one of the force options.
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+package to be removed (at least not without using one of the force options).
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.TP
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-.BR Architecture: \ <arch|all>
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+.BR "Architecture: " "<arch|all>"
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The architecture specifies which type of hardware this package was compiled
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-for. Common architectures are `i386', `sparc' and `alpha'. Note that the
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+for. Common architectures are `i386', `m68k', `sparc', `alpha', `powerpc'
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+etc. Note that the
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.B all
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option is meant for packages that are architecture independent. Some examples
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-of this are perl scripts and documentation.
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+of this are shell or Perl scripts, or documentation.
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.TP
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-.BR Source: \ <source\ name>
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-The name of the source that this package came from, if different than the
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-name of the package itself.
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+.BR "Source: " "<source name>"
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+The name of the source package that this binary package came from, if
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+different than the name of the package itself.
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.TP
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-.BR Depends: \ <package\ list>
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+.BR "Depends: " "<package list>"
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List of packages that are required for this package to provide a
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non-trivial amount of functionality. The package maintenance software
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-will not allow a package to be installed without also installing
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-packages listed in its
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+will not allow a package to be installed if the packages listed in its
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.B Depends
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-field, and will run the postinst scripts of packages listed in DEPENDS
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-fields before those of the packages which depend on them, and run
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-prerm scripts before.
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+field aren't installed (at least not without using the force options),
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+and will run the postinst scripts of packages listed in Depends: fields
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+before those of the packages which depend on them, and run prerm scripts
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+before.
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.TP
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-.BR Pre-Depends: \ <package\ list>
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+.BR "Pre-Depends: " "<package list>"
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List of packages that must be installed
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.B and
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configured before this one can be installed. This is usually used in the
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-case where this package requires the pre depend for running its preinst
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+case where this package requires another package for running its preinst
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script.
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.TP
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-.BR Recommends: \ <package\ list>
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-Lists packages that would be found together with
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-this one in all but unusual installations. The package maintenance
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-software will warn the user if they install a package without those
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-listed in its
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+.BR "Recommends: " "<package list>"
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+Lists packages that would be found together with this one in all but
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+unusual installations. The package maintenance software will warn the
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+user if they install a package without those listed in its
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.B Recommends
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field.
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.TP
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.BR Suggests: \ <package\ list>
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Lists packages that are related to this one and can perhaps enhance
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its usefulness, but without which installing this package is perfectly
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-reasonable. The package maintenance software will not moan at the
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-user for not selecting suggested packages, but may use the information
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-in the
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-.B Suggests
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-field to assist the user during package selection.
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+reasonable.
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.LP
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The syntax of
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.B Depends ,
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@@ -123,60 +120,60 @@ The syntax of
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.B Recommends
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and
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.B Suggests
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-is a list of groups of alternative packages. Each group is a list of
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-packages separated by vertical bar (or `pipe') symbols, `|'. The
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-groups are separated by commas. Each package is a package name
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+fields is a list of groups of alternative packages. Each group is a list
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+of packages separated by vertical bar (or `pipe') symbols, `|'. The
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+groups are separated by commas. Commas are to be read as `AND', and pipes
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+as `OR', with pipes binding more tightly. Each item is a package name
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optionally followed by a version number specification in parentheses.
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-A version number may start with a `>>', in which case any later version
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-will match, and may specify or omit the Debian packaging revision
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-(separated by a hyphen). Commas are to be read as `AND', and pipes as
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-`OR', with pipes binding more tightly.
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.LP
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-Accepted version relationships are ">>" for greater than, "<<" for less than,
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-">=" for greater than or equal to, "<=" for less than or equal to, and "="
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-for equal to.
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+A version number may start with a `>>', in which case any later version
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+will match, and may specify or omit the Debian packaging revision (separated
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+by a hyphen). Accepted version relationships are ">>" for greater than,
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+"<<" for less than, ">=" for greater than or equal to, "<=" for less than
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+or equal to, and "=" for equal to.
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.TP
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-.BR Conflicts: \ <package\ list>
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+.BR "Conflicts: " "<package list>"
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Lists packages that conflict with this one, for example by containing
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-files with the same names (an example would be Smail vs. Sendmail).
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-The package maintenance software will not allow conflicting packages
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-to be installed at the same time. Two conflicting packages should each include a
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+files with the same names. The package maintenance software will not
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+allow conflicting packages to be installed at the same time. Two
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+conflicting packages should each include a
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.B Conflicts
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line mentioning the other.
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.TP
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-.BR Replaces: \ <package\ list>
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-List of packages that this one replaces. This is used for allowing this package
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-to overwrite the files of another package and is usually used with the
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+.BR "Replaces: " "<package list>"
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+List of packages files from which this one replaces. This is used for
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+allowing this package to overwrite the files of another package and
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+is usually used with the
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.B Conflicts
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-field to force removal of the other package, if this one also has the same files
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-as the conflicted package.
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+field to force removal of the other package, if this one also has the
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+same files as the conflicted package.
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.TP
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.BR Provides: \ <package\ list>
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-This is a list of virtual packages that this one provides. Usuaully this is used
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-in the case of several packages all providing the same service. For example,
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-sendmail and smail both can serve as a mail server, so they provide a common package
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-on which other packages can depend. This will allow sendmail or smail to serve
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-as a valid option to satisy the one dependency. This prevents the packages that
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-depend on a mail server from having to know the package names for all of them,
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-and using `|' to seperate the list.
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+This is a list of virtual packages that this one provides. Usuaully this is
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+used in the case of several packages all providing the same service.
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+For example, sendmail and exim can can serve as a mail server, so they
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+provide a common package (`mail-transport-agent') on which other packages
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+can depend. This will allow sendmail or exim to serve as a valid option
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+to satisy the dependency. This prevents the packages that depend on a mail
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+server from having to know the package names for all of them, and using
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+`|' to separate the list.
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.LP
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The syntax of
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.B Conflicts ,
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.B Replaces
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and
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.B Provides
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-is a list of package names, separated by commas (and optional
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-whitespace). In the
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+is a list of package names, separated by commas (and optional whitespace).
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+In the
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.B Conflicts
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-field, the comma should be read as `OR'. An optional version can also be given
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-with the same syntax as above for the
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+field, the comma should be read as `OR'. An optional version can also be
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+given with the same syntax as above for the
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.B Conflicts
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and
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.B Replaces
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fields.
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.SH EXAMPLE
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-.PP
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-.RS
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+.\" .RS
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.nf
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Package: grep
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Essential: yes
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@@ -184,16 +181,22 @@ Priority: required
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Section: base
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Maintainer: Wichert Akkerman <wakkerma@debian.org>
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Architecture: sparc
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-Version: 2.3-7
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+Version: 2.4-1
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Pre-Depends: libc6 (>= 2.0.105)
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+Provides: rgrep
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+Conflicts: rgrep
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Description: GNU grep, egrep and fgrep.
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- The GNU set of grep tools. Many times faster than standard
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- unix grep.
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+ The GNU family of grep utilities may be the "fastest grep in the west".
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+ GNU grep is based on a fast lazy-state deterministic matcher (about
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+ twice as fast as stock Unix egrep) hybridized with a Boyer-Moore-Gosper
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+ search for a fixed string that eliminates impossible text from being
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+ considered by the full regexp matcher without necessarily having to
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+ look at every character. The result is typically many times faster
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+ than Unix grep or egrep. (Regular expressions containing backreferencing
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+ will run more slowly, however.)
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.fi
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-.RE
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-.PP
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+.\" .RE
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.SH SEE ALSO
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.BR deb (5),
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.BR dpkg (8),
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-.BR dpkg-deb (1),
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-.BR dselect (8).
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+.BR dpkg-deb (1).
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Wichert Akkerman