Ubuntu Hacks

Chapter 6. Package Management

Hacks 54-66

One of Ubuntu’s key strengths is the quality of the software packages that are included in the main distribution: they have been relentlessly tested, and come together to form a rock-solid Linux distribution. These packages are managed by a tool called APT (Advanced Packaging Tool) as well as a variety of frontends that make apt a bit easier to work with. In this chapter, you’ll learn how to work with apt and those frontends.

Although the main Ubuntu distribution is integrated and very solid, that stability comes at a price: many of the optional packages you may want have been excluded from the main distribution. However, there are many ways to bring in optional packages, and there are hacks in this chapter to help you do so. These hacks will also help you understand the consequences of adding optional packages. You’ll also learn how to compile applications from source, create your own Ubuntu packages, and host packages in a custom repository for others to use.

Manage Packages from the Command Line

Dive under the hood and manage packages directly from the command line.

Ubuntu provides a number of very nice graphical tools for managing software packages from the desktop, but sometimes you just have to get hands-on to really get things done. Servers don’t generally have a graphical desktop environment installed, and if you manage machines remotely through a shell session, you need to know how to use Ubuntu’s command-line package-management tools. ...