aptly - an apt-get/apt-cache/dpkg wrapper - maemo.org

aspidites | # 1 | 2009-12-24, 05:00 | Report

update 6
-fixed bug mentioned before about option order.
-created topic in Applications to see if this is worth distributing
-all changes from now on will be in aptly/CHANGES from now on

update 5
- regression. re-factoring the code as I have caused some options to be evaluated in th e wrong order. This will be fixed in the next version (in particular --install and --update
- packaging seems to be a lot of work. I will announce this in Applications and if there is enough generated interest I'll officially package it.
update 4
- re-factored/cleaned code
- syntax is more apt-get like in that instead of having to type:

Code:

aptly -i pkg1,pkg2,pkg3

you can type:

Code:

aptly -i pkg1 pkg2 pkg3

- apps are now installed simultaneously instead of sequencially*
- help command is a bit more detailed:

I'm thinking about packaging this shortly and maybe even pushinging to maemo-devel.

update 3
- experimental support for dependency handling for local *.deb files added.
- added todo list and licensing.

update 2
I finally got the basics down (after sacrificing some initial features), and I rather like it. It's a command line app, so there isn't much to screenshot, but here it is anyways

Here is a comparison of doing things with aptly versus pure apt tools:

Update & Upgrade

Code:

# old way
apt-get update && apt-get upgrade

# aptly
aptly -uU

Install & remove simultaneously

Code:

# old way
apt-get remove some_package some_other package && apt-get install new_package

# aptly
aptly -r some_package,some_other_pacakge -i new_package

Install from multiple sources

Code:

# old way
apt-get install some_package_name && dpkg -i some_deb_file

# aplty
aptly -i some_package_name,soem_deb_file

Note that for the above to work, aptly has to be in your PATH. Otherwise, you should run as follows:

Code:

python ./aptly -i some_app
# if you have made aptly executable
./aptly -i some_app

update 1
You can now string commands together. A common use-case is that something like:

Code:

apt-get update && apt-get install app

can be done like this:

Code:

aptly --upgrade --install vim

ore more succiently:

Code:

aptly -ui vim

original post
As the title suggests, I'm writing an apt-get, apt-cache, and dpkg wrapper in python called aptly. In addition to being a learning exercise, I wanted a way to consolidate the functions of all of these programs into one tool.

Here is a screencast of it in it's primitive state.

I am however running into the following problems:

On most systems, as long as you set the executable flag on a file and have the appropriate header, you can run it without actually prefixing it with the interpreter (ie "aptly" instead of "python aptly". I can't seem to do this on my N900. (thanks fatalsaint)
I can't seem to find a command that will allow me to distinguish from which repo/catalog an app came from. I would use this information to allow a user to specify from which rep/catalog a piece of software comes from. short of disabling and reenabling repos manually, this doesn't seem to be something that apt does natively
~~I have noticed that modifications to /etc/apt/sources.list.d/hildon-application-manager.list by hand don't seem to appear in App.manager.~~ filed a bug report, but doubt it'll get looked into any time soon

Last edited by aspidites; 2009-12-26 at 04:15.

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fatalsaint | # 2 | 2009-12-24, 05:21 | Report

For the first point it will only work if the application is in your $PATH.. /usr/bin, /bin, /opt/bin/, etc..

You should be able to run the command like "./aptly" if its in the same directory you're in.

I know theres a way to get a the repo info.. still looking. Things like "apt-cache show package_name" give a ton of information including version, and section (the control file), but doesn't list repo. Interesting.

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dvergin | # 3 | 2009-12-24, 05:22 | Report

Originally Posted by aspidites View Post

...you can run it without actually prefixing it with the interpreter (ie "aptly" instead of "python aptly". I can't seem to do this on my N900.

With questions like this, it moves the conversation toward a solution more quickly if you post what you have tried when you state the problem.

This works fine for me as the first line in a python executable which runs without prefixing "python" on the command line:

Code:

#!/usr/bin/python

What have you tried?
-----------------------------------
Edit: ...and what fatalsaint said.

aspidites | # 4 | 2009-12-24, 05:24 | Report

Originally Posted by fatalsaint View Post

For the first point it will only work if the application is in your $PATH.. /usr/bin, /bin, /opt/bin/, etc..

Duh!. I must be tired, having not thought of that, lol.

I already had the "#!/usr/bin/env python" at the top of my script.

fatalsaint | # 5 | 2009-12-24, 05:25 | Report

apt-cache showpkg package_name

Gives information such as:

Originally Posted by

2:1.0~rc3+svn20090426-1ubuntu10.1 (/var/lib/apt/lists/us.archive.ubuntu.com_ubuntu_dists_karmic-updates_multiverse_binary-amd64_Packages) (/var/lib/dpkg/status)
Description Language:
File: /var/lib/apt/lists/us.archive.ubuntu.com_ubuntu_dists_karmic-updates_multiverse_binary-amd64_Packages
MD5: c765aa48044329115354123039018b09

2:1.0~rc3+svn20090426-1ubuntu10 (/var/lib/apt/lists/us.archive.ubuntu.com_ubuntu_dists_karmic_multiver se_binary-amd64_Packages)
Description Language:
File: /var/lib/apt/lists/us.archive.ubuntu.com_ubuntu_dists_karmic_multiver se_binary-amd64_Packages
MD5: c765aa48044329115354123039018b09

The repository IS in there... just kind of.. ugly.

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aspidites | # 6 | 2009-12-24, 05:33 | Report

Originally Posted by fatalsaint View Post

apt-cache showpkg package_name

Gives information such as:

The repository IS in there... just kind of.. ugly.

That is better than nothing. Thanks again :-)

aspidites | # 7 | 2009-12-25, 02:17 | Report

I was trying to sanitize output, however it seems as though apt-get, etc automatically buffer output when it detects it is being run through a pipe, which means that I have to wait until the app is done executing before I can capture output (as opposed to doing it real time). The result is that trying to do so makes aplty feel sluggish. As such, I've decided to just keep each respective program's output untouched.

Anyways, it's working now, and I'll update the first post with the code, screenshots, and a screencast showing its flexibility (or at least my laziness)

aspidites | # 8 | 2009-12-27, 04:08 | Report

Well, I cant seem to get the --cache command to work.

How it is supposed to work is that you evoke it like such:

Code:

aptly --cache --install some_package
# or
aplty --cache some_directory --install some_package

Supposedly, that will download your deb package to some_directory or ~/.config/aptly/cache if some_directory is omitted.

The equivalent in plain old apt-get is this:

Code:

apt-get -o dir::cache::archives="/home/user/.config/aptly/cache" install some_package

which runs fine.

I am trying to evoke it using python's subprocess:

Code:

command = ["apt-get", "-o", "dir::cache::archives="/home/user/.config/aptly/cache"", "install", "some_package"]

subprocess.call(command)

The problem is that I get the following error:

Code:

E: could not open lock file /var/cache/apt/" /home/user/.config/aptly/cache/" /lock - open (2 no such file or directory

I'm confused because no where in the code have I done any variable substitution for the /valr/cache/apt/" or assigned it explicitly. Am I missing something glaringly obvious?

fatalsaint | # 9 | 2009-12-27, 04:11 | Report

I'm assuming its your quotes. You have quotes within quotes in your app. I suggest one of the following:

Code:

command = ["apt-get", "-o", "dir::cache::archives=\"/home/user/.config/aptly/cache\"", "install", "some_package"]

or

Code:

command = ["apt-get", "-o", 'dir::cache::archives="/home/user/.config/aptly/cache"', "install", "some_package"]

aspidites | # 10 | 2009-12-27, 04:46 | Report

Originally Posted by fatalsaint View Post

I'm assuming its your quotes. You have quotes within quotes in your app. I suggest one of the following:

Code:

command = ["apt-get", "-o", "dir::cache::archives=\"/home/user/.config/aptly/cache\"", "install", "some_package"]

or

Code:

command = ["apt-get", "-o", 'dir::cache::archives="/home/user/.config/aptly/cache"', "install", "some_package"]

Actually the previous post was essentially pseudo code from the top of my head, sorry.. In the actually code I had tried both """ "some_stuff" """ and " ' some stuff ' " and got the same results.

Turns out that the -o produced some kind of anomaly. I finally got it to work ,but I had to use an alternate syntax for call:

Code:

# instead of this
call([command, arg1, arg2])
# I had to use this:
call("command arg1 arg2", shell=True")

I had read that I should avoid the latter form in most situations which is why I hadn't used it before.

Anyways, it is now possible to install to a different cache directory (defaulting to home if not is specified with the -C/--cache option or the system default if the option is omitted) :-)

I also added options to (auto)clean. I still need to test for regressions before I release this, but it's starting to shape up pretty nicely I think.