dpkg/NEWS

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CHANGES SINCE dpkg 0.93.7:

 * a Perl-based front-end with many new features has replaced dpkg.sh.
   The new features are detailed below.  dpkg.pl is not finished,
   however, as it does not yet support CONFLICTS, DEPENDS, OPTIONAL,
   or RECOMMENDED.  All of the above will be supported in Debian 0.93.

   In addition, it does not yet support PARTS, but that may wait until
   Debian 0.94.  (In the meantime, we can create disk-sized packages by
   hand.)

   dpkg.pl has been constructed from code originally by Matt Welsh,
   with additions by Carl Streeter, Ian Murdock, and Ian Jackson.

New features in dpkg.pl:

 * dpkg.pl can now manipulate many packages at a time; dpkg.sh could
   only manipulate one package at a time.

 * dpkg.pl supports pre-installation, post-installation, pre-removal,
   and post-removal scripts.  During batch installation,
   post-installation scripts are executed after all packages have
   been installed.  (dpkg.sh supported all of the above except the
   batch installation feature, because dpkg.sh did not itself support
   batch installation.)

 * dpkg.pl now supports the upgrading of packages.  A newer version of
   a package, when released, can be obtained and installed normally on
   the system to replace an older, previously installed version of it,
   all with a minimum of manuals steps.

   During the installation process, dpkg.pl determines whether or not
   a version of the package is currently installed on the system.  If
   it is, it determines whether it is an older version than the
   package being installed (in which case we are ``upgrading'', and
   the installation proceeds after saving the configuration files and
   removing the older version), or whether it is the same or a newer
   version than the package being installed (in which case we are, for
   whatever reason, attempting to install a package twice or
   ``downgrading'', and dpkg.pl asks for confirmation).

 * dpkg.pl now supports automatic and intelligent configuration file
   updates during the upgrade process.  During a package upgrade, it
   determines when a configuration file has changed since the last
   installation and, for those that have, prompts the user whether to
   keep the older or newer configuration file, providing them with
   default responses.

New features in dpkg-deb:

 * dpkg-util.deb has been renamed to dpkg-deb, for brevity.

 * dpkg-deb is much less verbose, and in most cases it says nothing
   unless an error has occurred.  The front-end is expected to provide
   the necessary verbosity when appropriate.

 * `dpkg-deb --describe' now outputs the description only, without the
   ``Description:'' label.

 * `dpkg-deb --list' output is now sorted by package name.

 * `dpkg-deb --remove' bug fix: in dpkg 0.93.7 (or earlier), some
   directories did not get properly removed.  This has been fixed.

 * `dpkg-deb --version' now outputs the version information only,
   without the `Version:'' label, and without maintainer information.

 * `dpkg-deb --version' now provides the version of dpkg if no
   argument is specified.