Package management with wajig
Other Uses
Basic package management is only the main purpose of wajig. Several special functions are also included in wajig's sub-commands, such as:
- Building source packages with
build
,build-depend
, andpackage
. - Converting
.rpm
packages to.deb
packages, withrpm2deb
, asalien
does. - Reconfiguring sub-systems such as the window manager with
update-alts
, asdpkg-reconfigure
does. - Creating a daily cronjob using
daily-upgrade
as part of the basic command structure. - Syncing the contents of multiple machines by writing a list of packages to a file, then copying the file to another machine and doing an install with
wajig file-install
. The file's list of packages can be generated by redirectingwajig list-log
to a file. Syncing can also be done withfile-remove
.
Togaware's GNU/Linux Survival Guide also lists scripts to run outside of wajig for related purposes [4].
The Target Audience
Wajig is not a complete replacement for every package-related utility in Debian or its derivatives. For example, the capabilities of apt-spy
, which finds the fasted mirror site for installation, are not included in wajig.
Even more importantly, wajig is not a tool for beginners. If anything, wajig is more efficient if you already have a working knowledge of Debian's package system and its main utilities. The way wajig is designed, it is most efficient when you already know the sub-commands of basic Debian commands but are perhaps a little hazy on the exact syntax. Instead of scanning through a man page to find how the command you need should be structured, you can instead go directly to wajig and enter a sub-command after it with a strong chance that it will run.
Alternatively, if you are unsure of the sub-command you need, you can try entering a one- or two-word description after the main command. Wajig has just enough redundancy in its sub-commands that you might get lucky.
For true experts, wajig can be like a grammar-checker: If you know enough of what you are doing to use it effectively, you probably don't need it. Wajig is best-suited to those who know just enough about Debian package management that logic and a few hints can help them with administrative tasks. For such users, wajig might be just what they need.
Infos
- Debian Apt utilities: https://packages.debian.org/search?keywords=apt&searchon=names&suite=stable§ion=all
- Wajig: http://www.togaware.com/wajig/
- Wajig documentation: http://linux.togaware.com/survivor/wajig.html
- Togaware's GNU/Linux Survival Guide: http://linux.togaware.com/survivor/Tips_Tricks.html
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