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8.4.1. The control File
We will begin by looking at the control file, which is contained in the control.tar.gz archive. The control file contains the most vital information about the package. It uses a structure similar to email headers and can be viewed with the dpkg -I command. For example, the control file for apt looks like this:
$ dpkg -I apt_1.4~beta1_amd64.deb control
Package: apt Version: 1.4~beta1 Architecture: amd64
Maintainer: APT Development Team <[email protected]> Installed-Size: 3478
Depends: adduser, gpgv | gpgv2 | gpgv1, debian-archive-keyring, init-system-helpers (>=
➥ 1.18~), libapt-pkg5.0 (>= 1.3~rc2), libc6 (>= 2.15), libgcc1 (>= 1:3.0),
➥ libstdc++6 (>= 5.2) Recommends: gnupg | gnupg2 | gnupg1
Suggests: apt-doc, aptitude | synaptic | wajig, dpkg-dev (>= 1.17.2), powermgmt-base,
➥ python-apt
Breaks: apt-utils (<< 1.3~exp2~) Replaces: apt-utils (<< 1.3~exp2~) Section: admin
Priority: important
Description: commandline package manager
This package provides commandline tools for searching and managing as well as querying information about packages
as a low-level access to all features of the libapt-pkg library.
.
These include:
* apt-get for retrieval of packages and information about them from authenticated sources and for installation, upgrade and removal of packages together with their dependencies
* apt-cache for querying available information about installed as well as installable packages
* apt-cdrom to use removable media as a source for packages
* apt-config as an interface to the configuration settings
* apt-key as an interface to manage authentication keys
$ dpkg -I apt_1.4~beta1_amd64.deb control
Package: apt Version: 1.4~beta1 Architecture: amd64
Maintainer: APT Development Team <[email protected]> Installed-Size: 3478
Depends: adduser, gpgv | gpgv2 | gpgv1, debian-archive-keyring, init-system-helpers (>=
➥ 1.18~), libapt-pkg5.0 (>= 1.3~rc2), libc6 (>= 2.15), libgcc1 (>= 1:3.0),
➥ libstdc++6 (>= 5.2) Recommends: gnupg | gnupg2 | gnupg1
Suggests: apt-doc, aptitude | synaptic | wajig, dpkg-dev (>= 1.17.2), powermgmt-base,
➥ python-apt
Breaks: apt-utils (<< 1.3~exp2~) Replaces: apt-utils (<< 1.3~exp2~) Section: admin
Priority: important
Description: commandline package manager
This package provides commandline tools for searching and managing as well as querying information about packages
as a low-level access to all features of the libapt-pkg library.
.
These include:
* apt-get for retrieval of packages and information about them from authenticated sources and for installation, upgrade and removal of packages together with their dependencies
* apt-cache for querying available information about installed as well as installable packages
* apt-cdrom to use removable media as a source for packages
* apt-config as an interface to the configuration settings
* apt-key as an interface to manage authentication keys
In this section, we will walk you through the control file and explain the various fields. Each of these will give you a better understanding of the packaging system, give you more fine-tuned configuration control, and provide you with insight needed to troubleshoot problems that may occur.