Introduction

the past I was trying many different linux distros. Each has its own package management systems: debian has apt, mandrake has urpmi, yellowdog has an apt front-end for rpm, suse has yast... While they all are quite similar and not difficult to use, I found that I often made mistakes because I often forgot which system I was using and the exact commands on that system. Another issue is that I wish I could keep track how I installed/removed those packages. So I wrote a simple wrapper for various package management systems. It serves two purposes:

1. to free me from remembering the exact commands for different systems
2. to help me keep track of what packages I installed

For example, when I need to install e.g. vim, I always say pkg-install vim, and the wrapper would invoke aptitude, apt-get or yum depending on the current system.

Installation

• download from http://download.river-valley.com/pkgwatch/pkgwatch-1.0.tgz
• unpack and run installer (as root):

  bash INSTALL.sh

• edit /etc/pkgwatchrc to fit your system. You must set PWTOOL and PWDIR:
  • PWTOOL is the name of the package management system on your system. It must be one of the following:

    aptitude-deb
    apt-deb
    urpm
    yast-rpm
    yum-rpm
    fink-deb
    macports-port

• • PWDIR is a directory to keep track of package installation/removal.
• since I use mostly debian-based systems, I set default as follows:

  PWTOOL=aptitude-deb
  PWDIR=/root/config/pkgwatch

Usage examples

Instead of listing all the details, I describe the commands I use most frequently and the effect of each command.

pkg-update

Update the package management:

• on an apt-based system this is similar to apt-get update
• on an yum system this is similar to yum update
• on macports (macosx) this is similar to port selfupdate

pkg-install vim

Install package vim. The details of this command will be explained later.

pkg-remove vim

Remove package vim.

pkg-list

List all installed packages on my system:

• on deb-based system this is similar to dpkg --get-selections
• on rpm-based system this is similar to rpm -qa

pkg-file vim

List all files belonging to package vim.

• on deb-based system this is similar to dpkg -L vim
• on rpm-based system this is similar to rpm -ql vim

pkg-own /usr/bin/vim

source