How to identify obsolete packages (was: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid?)

From	Stephen Powell <zlinuxman@wowway.com>
Newsgroups	linux.debian.user
Subject	How to identify obsolete packages (was: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid?)
Date	2015-10-31 15:40 +0100
Message-ID	<qpFu2-3YS-13@gated-at.bofh.it> (permalink)
References	<qpC37-1N0-1@gated-at.bofh.it> <qpCFP-2fo-5@gated-at.bofh.it>
Organization	linux.* mail to news gateway

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On Sat, 31 Oct 2015 07:38:25 -0400 (EDT), Chris Bannister wrote:
> 
> Oh great! They've fixed it. I hated having to "dpkg --purge aptitude"
> after a new installation. If you want extra packages, it's just an
> apt-get install <package> step away.

I used to use aptitude; but I've switched back to using apt, mainly
because apt-get resolves "Recommends" dependencies during an upgrade
while aptitude does not.  But there is one thing that I like about
aptitude that, if I could get equivalent functionality out of apt,
I might not bother to install aptitude.

aptitude, when run with no parameters, provides a full-screen interface.
This full-screen interface lists package categories which can be
expanded.  One category in particular is of interest to me:
"Obsolete and Locally Created Packages".  By expanding this category,
I can identify obsolete packages.  (An obsolete package, by definition,
is an installed package which no longer exists in the Debian archive.)
99% of the time, an obsolete package is one that I wish to purge.
I've seen cases where packages are held back during
"apt-get --purge dist-upgrade" processing until these obsolete packages
are purged.  But I have not found a way to easily identify obsolete
packages using apt.  There is an "autoremove" option on apt-get to
remove packages which were automatically installed but which are no
longer required by any installed package.  But that is different.
That's not the same thing as an obsolete package.  An obsolete package
may have been manually installed, but it's still obsolete, and I
need to be able to identify it as such.

Does anyone know an easy way to identify obsolete packages without
using aptitide?

-- 
  .''`.     Stephen Powell    <zlinuxman@wowway.com>
 : :'  :
 `. `'`
   `-

Thread

Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Rick Thomas <rbthomas@pobox.com> - 2015-10-31 12:00 +0100
  Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Chris Bannister <cbannister@slingshot.co.nz> - 2015-10-31 12:40 +0100
    Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Lisi Reisz <lisi.reisz@gmail.com> - 2015-10-31 12:50 +0100
      Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Chris Bannister <cbannister@slingshot.co.nz> - 2015-10-31 13:10 +0100
        Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Lisi Reisz <lisi.reisz@gmail.com> - 2015-10-31 14:10 +0100
        Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Martin Read <zen75502@zen.co.uk> - 2015-10-31 16:10 +0100
          Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Cindy-Sue Causey <butterflybytes@gmail.com> - 2015-10-31 16:30 +0100
            Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> - 2015-10-31 17:10 +0100
          Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> - 2015-10-31 17:10 +0100
            Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Mario Castelán Castro  <marioxcc.MT@yandex.com> - 2015-10-31 17:20 +0100
              Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Lisi Reisz <lisi.reisz@gmail.com> - 2015-10-31 17:30 +0100
                Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> - 2015-10-31 17:40 +0100
                Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Lisi Reisz <lisi.reisz@gmail.com> - 2015-10-31 19:20 +0100
                Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? moxalt <moxalt@riseup.net> - 2015-11-02 17:40 +0100
                Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Mario Castelán Castro  <marioxcc.MT@yandex.com> - 2015-10-31 20:20 +0100
                Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Lisi Reisz <lisi.reisz@gmail.com> - 2015-11-01 00:00 +0100
                Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Mario Castelán Castro  <marioxcc.MT@yandex.com> - 2015-11-02 20:50 +0100
                Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Brian <ad44@cityscape.co.uk> - 2015-10-31 20:30 +0100
                Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Mario Castelán Castro <marioxcc.MT@yandex.com> - 2015-10-31 20:40 +0100
                Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Mario Castelán Castro <marioxcc.MT@yandex.com> - 2015-10-31 20:40 +0100
              Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> - 2015-10-31 17:40 +0100
        Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? moxalt <moxalt@riseup.net> - 2015-11-02 17:40 +0100
          Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Lisi Reisz <lisi.reisz@gmail.com> - 2015-11-02 18:00 +0100
          Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Mario Castelán Castro <marioxcc.MT@yandex.com> - 2015-11-02 20:10 +0100
    How to identify obsolete packages (was: Anybody know why aptitude  is not installed by default in Sid?) Stephen Powell <zlinuxman@wowway.com> - 2015-10-31 15:40 +0100
      Re: How to identify obsolete packages (was: Anybody know why  aptitude is not installed by default in Sid?) Reco <recoverym4n@gmail.com> - 2015-10-31 15:40 +0100
        Re: How to identify obsolete packages (was: Anybody know why  aptitude is not installed by default in Sid?) Stephen Powell <zlinuxman@wowway.com> - 2015-10-31 17:10 +0100
      Re: How to identify obsolete packages (was: Anybody know why aptitude  is not installed by default in Sid?) kamaraju kusumanchi <raju.mailinglists@gmail.com> - 2015-10-31 16:30 +0100
        [SOLVED] How to identify obsolete packages Stephen Powell <zlinuxman@wowway.com> - 2015-10-31 17:40 +0100
          Re: [SOLVED] How to identify obsolete packages kamaraju kusumanchi <raju.mailinglists@gmail.com> - 2015-11-01 04:50 +0100
          Re: [SOLVED] How to identify obsolete packages Jörg-Volker Peetz <jvpeetz@web.de> - 2015-11-01 21:40 +0100
      Re: How to identify obsolete packages (was: Anybody know why aptitude  is not installed by default in Sid?) Jude DaShiell <jdashiel@panix.com> - 2015-10-31 18:30 +0100
        Re: How to identify obsolete packages Stephen Powell <zlinuxman@wowway.com> - 2015-10-31 20:10 +0100
    Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Brian <ad44@cityscape.co.uk> - 2015-10-31 20:10 +0100
  Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Mario Castelán Castro <marioxcc.MT@yandex.com> - 2015-10-31 17:10 +0100
    Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Brian <ad44@cityscape.co.uk> - 2015-10-31 20:00 +0100
      Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Teemu Likonen <tlikonen@iki.fi> - 2015-10-31 20:20 +0100
        Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Javi Barroso <javibarroso@gmail.com> - 2015-10-31 21:20 +0100
          Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Brian <ad44@cityscape.co.uk> - 2015-10-31 21:40 +0100
            Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Javi Barroso <javibarroso@gmail.com> - 2015-11-01 00:20 +0100
              Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Brian <ad44@cityscape.co.uk> - 2015-11-01 02:10 +0100
                Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Brian <ad44@cityscape.co.uk> - 2015-11-01 14:00 +0100
      Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Joe <joe@jretrading.com> - 2015-10-31 20:50 +0100
        Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Rick Thomas <rbthomas@pobox.com> - 2015-10-31 22:20 +0100
          Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Joe <joe@jretrading.com> - 2015-10-31 23:20 +0100
        Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Joe <joe@jretrading.com> - 2015-11-03 23:40 +0100
    Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Tim McDonough <tmcdonough@gmail.com> - 2015-10-31 22:30 +0100
      Re: minimal installation (was: Anybody know why...) Felix Miata <mrmazda@earthlink.net> - 2015-10-31 23:10 +0100
      Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Lisi Reisz <lisi.reisz@gmail.com> - 2015-10-31 23:50 +0100
  Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Rick Thomas <rbthomas@pobox.com> - 2015-11-01 01:00 +0100
    Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Alex Moonshine <moonshine@openmailbox.org> - 2015-11-02 08:50 +0100
      Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Joe <joe@jretrading.com> - 2015-11-02 09:50 +0100
        Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Rick Thomas <rbthomas@pobox.com> - 2015-11-02 11:10 +0100
          Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Brian <ad44@cityscape.co.uk> - 2015-11-02 12:20 +0100
            Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Lisi Reisz <lisi.reisz@gmail.com> - 2015-11-02 12:40 +0100
              Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Brian <ad44@cityscape.co.uk> - 2015-11-02 13:20 +0100
                Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Lisi Reisz <lisi.reisz@gmail.com> - 2015-11-02 16:10 +0100
                Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Brian <ad44@cityscape.co.uk> - 2015-11-02 21:00 +0100
                Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Lisi Reisz <lisi.reisz@gmail.com> - 2015-11-02 23:20 +0100
                Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Brian <ad44@cityscape.co.uk> - 2015-11-03 00:40 +0100
                Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Lisi Reisz <lisi.reisz@gmail.com> - 2015-11-03 01:00 +0100
                Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Lisi Reisz <lisi.reisz@gmail.com> - 2015-11-03 01:00 +0100
                Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Renaud (Ron) OLGIATI <renaud@olgiati-in-paraguay.org> - 2015-11-03 10:10 +0100
          Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Gene Heskett <gheskett@shentel.net> - 2015-11-02 14:30 +0100
          Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? "John L. Ries" <jries@salford-systems.com> - 2015-11-02 20:50 +0100
            Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Chris Bannister <cbannister@slingshot.co.nz> - 2015-11-03 05:00 +0100
        Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Chris Bannister <cbannister@slingshot.co.nz> - 2015-11-03 04:40 +0100
          Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Glenn English <ghe@slsware.net> - 2015-11-03 16:20 +0100
            Re: Anybody know why aptitude is not installed by default in Sid? Joe <joe@jretrading.com> - 2015-11-03 20:30 +0100

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