question on "smart upgrade --dump"

[Werner Flamme]

linux_learner schrieb am 27.01.2007 05:09:
> To expound on this further, install is to install a program or package 
> that is not currently installed. To upgrade, is to take a package that 
> currently exists, and upgrade it to the current version.

Who would have guessed? :-) I use Linux for 10+ years, and I somewhat know
those words :-)

I am interested about knowing the difference for the system. After doing a
"smart install package-x" I have the same packages installed as I have
after a "smart update", when I had a prior version of package-x installed
(assuming that there are no other updates). In both cases, dependencies
must be met. In both cases, the priority of the sources is the same.

So I just have to accept that though the effect of "smart install
[packages]" and "smart upgrade" is exactly the same (again assuming that
there are no other updates; considering the number and versions of the
afterwards installed packages), the operation inside smart is different.

> On 1/26/07, Gustavo Niemeyer <gustavo at niemeyer.net> wrote:
>>> Hmmmm.... what I still do not understand is the difference between
>>> smart install and smart upgrade.
>> One will find the best possible option for installing a single 
>> package. The other will try to install several packages you haven't 
>> asked for explicitly, trying to upgrade your system, considering your
>> settings.
>> 

AFAIK, when I do a "smart install smart-gui" (and I sure have smart
installed when I enter this), smart detects the dependency "smart" and
tells me to install 2 packages, smart and smart-gui. It's not only "smart
update" that installs "several packages you haven't asked for explicitly" ;-)

>> As I said, this list is incorrect. Please ignore it for now.

I would not say this list is "incorrect", but "incomplete". It shows the 
packages that will be updated. It does not show packages that will be 
installed additionally (and some to be removed).

>> You don't have to use --dump to see that behavior. Ask Smart to upgade
>> your system. Pick a single package out of the "Upgrading" list, and
>> try to install it. There's a chance that no other packages will be
>> introduced in the transaction. One might then say "See? I was able to
>> pick a single package and not do anything else!".  So what?

I picked all of them. While "smart install [list]" just worked as expected, 
"smart upgrade" wanted to deinstall a lot of packages and install them 
again afterwards (see OP, "output 1" and "output 2").

>> I really miss what mean here. "upgrade" and "install" are radically 
>> different commands. To get the same behavior on "install" you must 
>> pick *every* package being suggested for installation in the upgrade 
>> command.

Yes, that was what I meant. When you look at my OP, the 13 files listed via 
"smart upgrade --dump" and the 13 files listed as "Upgrading packages" via 
"smart upgrade" are the same. I picked every file and entered this as one 
line, see my OP, "output 3". I did not pick the files listed as "Installing 
packages" since they are (and were) already installed - they are shown in 
"Downgrading packages", too. Smart is smart enough to see the necessity for 
a downgrade when using "smart install" ;-)

>> 
>> -- Gustavo Niemeyer http://niemeyer.net
>> 
> 

Best regards,
Werner

-- 
Werner Flamme, Abt. WKDV
Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung GmbH - UFZ
Permoserstr. 15 - 04318 Leipzig
Tel.: (0341) 235-3921 - Fax (0341) 235-453921
http://www.ufz.de - eMail: werner.flamme at ufz.de