Using apt-get and aptitude / 19 / 2013 / Archive / Magazine / Home

Using apt-get and aptitude

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As a Pair

Axel Beckert , Frank Hofmann

Installing and removing software is a required task for every package manager. Correctly managing a Debian system calls for efficient tools such as apt-get and aptitude.

Tools like apt-get and aptitude resolve dependencies and automatically remove programs that are no longer needed. They also clean up, update, and configure software on a Debian-based systems, such as Ubuntu, relying on mechanisms of package management for large-scale operations.

Both programs are easy to use for simple tasks (see the "Basics" box), but, with a little know-how, you can draw upon a very complete set of the tools and accomplish even complex tasks quickly and easily.

Default Settings

The apt and aptitude distribution maintainers usually provide default configurations. In the past, these were included in two files in the /etc/apt directory. The /etc/apt/apt.conf file handled the system-wide behavior [2] of apt and aptitude, whereas the /etc/apt/preferences file set the priorities for packages and package groups. Both of these files are optional on current systems.

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