most packages missing in adept/dselect, and replacing prior adept functionality

[dochawk]

After switching to 8.10, I've noticed that the "new" adept is seriously stripped down in functionality, similar to the old synaptic.

To make matters worse, both adept and dselect fail to find most of the packages. For example, when searching for nethack, dselect finds absolutely nothing, while adept fails to find the console version. Synaptic seems to be able to find everything (but it's still just synaptic).

Is there any way to get the functionality that adept used to have, and to get it to recognize all the packages? Or, even better, to get dselect to see all the packages?

I have the medibuntu and restricted packages set to available.

hawk

[kjjjjshab]

Re: most packages missing in adept/dselect, and replacing prior adept functionality

You likely won't ever see it with Adept...
http://web.mornfall.net/blog/farewell__44___adept.html

[DeathKitten]

Re: most packages missing in adept/dselect, and replacing prior adept functionality

I encountered some of these problems too, and I found success using apt-get. However, that is annoying as I don't have the ability to just randomly browse for packages I might find interesting, as I used to do after a fresh install.

I will keep an eye on this KPackageKit that is mentioned in the linked blog entry, but I am sad to see Adept slinking off into the sunset.

[KeithZG]

Re: most packages missing in adept/dselect, and replacing prior adept functionality

I couldn't stand the new Adept at all until I realized there were THREE versions, or should i say setups. By default I think the most prominent one in the menu is the "installer" version, which is launched with "adept installer"; obviously there's also "adept updater". According to "adept --help",

If no argument is supplied, launch full package manager

but I think to be sure one can always run "adept manager".

With that, one of the first packages I find (5th down in the list) is nethack-console, so I'm thinking this is something that might interest you (I spent quite a while being seriously pissed off at the new Adept before realizing this myself).

caveat: I'm running 4.2 from a 32-bit install, so your mileage may vary elsewhere.

For alternates though, one can always use aptitude; run it with no arguments and you've basically got an ncurses version of the old adept

Package: aptitude
Description: terminal-based package manager
 aptitude is a terminal-based package managemer with a number of
 useful features, including: a mutt-like syntax for matching packages
 in a flexible manner, dselect-like persistence of user actions, the
 ability to retrieve and display the Debian changelog of most
 packages, and a command-line mode similar to that of apt-get.
 .
 aptitude is also Y2K-compliant, non-fattening, naturally cleansing,
 and housebroken.

I do wonder how KPackageKit will turn out. I'll admit I'm a bit cynical; much of the KDE 4 story has been how cool and seductive building things from scratch is but how much regression hits you in the face when you go for it (there's a reason my primary desktop is still on 8.04 with 3.5....).

[DeathKitten]

Re: most packages missing in adept/dselect, and replacing prior adept functionality

I've always been annoyed with the "lighter" versions of Adept, so I don't even bother with anything other than Adept Manager. It scared me right off the bat when I did the latest Kubuntu install that Adept Manager looked much like the Adept installer I'd seen previously and ran away from.

I think I'm going to have to just become an apt-get power user. At least I have my Linux in a Nutshell book from O'Reilly and this forum to help me with that. I will keep an eye on the KPackageKit project just because while I like knowing I can use the command line when it comes down to it, I ultimately am lazy enough to fall back to the GUI if I have a good option to do so.

[dochawk]

Re: most packages missing in adept/dselect, and replacing prior adept functionality

Thanks. That at least lets me search and find things.

Aptitude is more my style; it looks much like a working dselect [I'm not much of a GUI person; they exist to show forumulae and to layer xterms ]

dselect still doesn't show everything; it doesn't seem to have any option similar to manager.

thanks

hawk