apt seems to be a sort of "unstable wrapper"

igorzwx · 2025-09-15 01:53:09

Why not a simple solution? A bash script with one command inside (as a substitute for gdebi).

For example:

mate-terminal -e <command>

To install a "local .deb" with dependencies, you can use apt or apt-get

A user-friendly GUI-less substitute for gdebi
1. a very simple bash script (e.g., three lines of code)
2. desktop launcher for this bash script
Right click on a deb file and select "install deb".
It opens a terminal, and runs sudo /usr/bin/apt-get install <path to your deb> on it.
It is much more user-friendly than gdebi

apt-get does not need a gui, it can be used as is.

Last edited by igorzwx (2025-09-15 16:30:00)

SteveM · 2025-09-15 03:52:21

I have found that nala mostly works as a replacement for apt. I say "mostly" because it can't do an apt dist-upgrade equivalent and when packages get in a real mess it also lacks the full features of apt to unbreak things.

igorzwx · 2025-09-15 10:00:27

when packages get in a real mess it also lacks the full features of apt to unbreak things.

Since apt is a sort of "unstable wrapper", it may lacks the full features of apt-get to unbreak things.

greenjeans · 2025-09-15 14:22:58

You could also just go the .desktop route, use apt-get, and run it in terminal, that at least would save some typing, so not a gui method, but a quick timesaver. In my workflow lately I do a lot of local installs.

igorzwx · 2025-09-15 15:02:32

If you do not know how to write such script (that is, a GUI-less substitute for gdebi, a sort of timesaver), you may try to think.

The same method can be used to run media files with CLI aps, e.g., aplay, mplayer, ffplay and the like, or with scripts (e.g, to resample waves with pcm_conv).

Last edited by igorzwx (2025-09-15 15:38:07)

greenjeans · 2025-09-15 15:36:08

1. a very simple bash script (e.g., three lines of code)

If you don't know how .desktops can work, you may be convinced you need a script.

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Action
Comment=Install local .deb package
Name=Install Package
Icon=info
Terminal=true
Profiles=on_file;

[X-Action-Profile on_file]
Exec=gksu.sh apt-get install %f
MimeTypes=application/x-debian-package;

igorzwx · 2025-09-15 15:47:39

Do you think that it is the simplest solution?

You may not use your gksu.sh with file. mediainfo, and the like.

So that, one desktop launcher, and one script which can be modified for the current needs.
You can simply uncomment the command you need.
NOTE: Filenames and paths with spaces should be supported.

If it is about security, then

Exec=gksu.sh /usr/bin/apt-get install %f

Linux Mint has two different apt

/usr/bin/apt
/usr/local/bin/apt

_https://github.com/linuxmint/mintsystem/blob/master/usr/local/bin/apt

greenjeans wrote:

Terminal=true

This is not acceptable. It should be like this:

Terminal=false

Terminal should be opened by a bash script named, for example, "deb_installer".
Terminal should remain open after apt-get exits, for it might be needed to fix problems. It should be under your control.
Paths with spaces should be supported.
USAGE: Right click on a deb file and select "deb_installer". It opens a terminal, and runs sudo /usr/bin/apt-get install <path to your deb> on it.
If you do not know how to open terminal from bash script and run commands on it, you may try to think. It is not difficult, if you trust your ability to think.
The complexity level of this problem is, let us say, "Ubuntu newbie".
Hint: mate-terminal -e <command>
If you pretend to be more intelligent than AI, you may try to solve this problem.

There are many experts on security, on sound, on ALSA, and on everything else, who cannot write a simple script and cannot compile anything. Such "universal experts", as a rule, have affinity to censorship. This affinity can manifest in various ways, from individual tendencies to participate in online content moderation to governmental actions that suppress certain forms of speech.

Because of pulseaudio, systemd, and pipewire, many users left Linux. As a result, the percentage of "universal experts" on Linux forums has significantly increased. They know little about Linux, but they can censor everything.

The problem is that such "universal experts" tend to overestimate their knowledge and underestimate their ignorance. To protect their overblown ego from the reality that challenges it, they have to censor everything they do not understand. That is why, they often attempt to censor jokes. For the same reason, they hate AI and strive to abolish it. Though there might also be economic reasons for AI hate. The "universal experts" may feel that they can be replaced by AI in the same way as Luddites were replaced by machines during the Industrial Revolution. They have to fear AI, because they do not trust their ability to think. To be enslaved by fear, one must relinquish trust in his God-given ability to think.

NOTE: The ability to think is a gift from God. However, if you trust the gifts from God, the Trotskyists and pseudo-Buddhists may diagnose you with "delusional arrogance on steroids".
Pseudo-Buddhism is a religion for slaves who can be replaced by AI. In contrast, authentic Buddhism emphasizes personal responsibility, ethical conduct, critical thinking, and the pursuit of wisdom. Critical thinking, exemplified in teachings like the Kalama Sutta, encourages independent inquiry rather than blind faith, while wisdom, the ultimate goal, is developed through a combination of ethical living and mental discipline.

If you don't trust your ability to think, the gift from God, you are a slave of the Devil.

Last edited by igorzwx (2025-09-18 22:16:13)

The officially official Devuan Forum!

#26 2025-09-15 01:53:09

Re: apt seems to be a sort of "unstable wrapper"

#27 2025-09-15 03:52:21

Re: apt seems to be a sort of "unstable wrapper"

#28 2025-09-15 10:00:27

Re: apt seems to be a sort of "unstable wrapper"

#29 2025-09-15 14:22:58

Re: apt seems to be a sort of "unstable wrapper"

#30 2025-09-15 15:02:32

Re: apt seems to be a sort of "unstable wrapper"

#31 2025-09-15 15:36:08

Re: apt seems to be a sort of "unstable wrapper"

#32 2025-09-15 15:47:39

Re: apt seems to be a sort of "unstable wrapper"

Board footer