[Bug 874409] Re: apt-get -q flag fails to squelch status -qq hides everything

[The Gavitron]

can't test on a natty box, because I hate unity, but in lucid/maverick
even this documented behaviour is broken:

$ sudo apt-get remove -y -q=2 some_package |tee foo
$ cat -v foo
(Reading database ... ^M(Reading database ... 5%^M(Reading database ... 10%^M(Reading database ... 15%^M(Reading database ... 20%^M(Reading database ... 25%^M(Reading database ... 30%^M(Reading database ... 35%^M(Reading database ... 40%^M(Reading database ... 45%^M(Reading database ... 50%^M(Reading database ... 55%^M(Reading database ... 60%^M(Reading database ... 65%^M(Reading database ... 70%^M(Reading database ... 75%^M(Reading database ... 80%^M(Reading database ... 85%^M(Reading database ... 90%^M(Reading database ... 95%^M(Reading database ... 100%^M(Reading database ... 46388 files and directories currently installed.)^M
Removing some_package ...^M


output is the same with any of -q -qq -q=1 -q=2


** Changed in: apt (Ubuntu)
       Status: Invalid => Confirmed

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/874409

Title:
  apt-get -q flag fails to squelch status -qq hides everything

Status in “apt” package in Ubuntu:
  Confirmed

Bug description:
  According to the docs, apt-get install -q foo should install the
  package foo, while suppressing progress messages. It does not. Quiet
  level 2 (-qq or -q=2) will suppress those messages, but also
  suppresses errors/summary. There is no middle ground.

  Example:

  $ sudo apt-get install -q=1 mysql-server
  Reading package lists...
  Building dependency tree...
  Reading state information...
  mysql-server is already the newest version.
  0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
  $ sudo apt-get install -q=2 mysql-server
  $

  The second example is probably correct output, but the first should
  suppress "Reading package lists..." type output as they are, as
  defined in the man page, "progress indicators". Certainly -q should
  output "mysql-server is already the newest version" which amounts to
  an error message. It's arguable if the summary "0 upgraded, 0 newly
  installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded" should be included or not.
  Either way, the docs are pretty clear that the progress messages don't
  belong there at all.

  Another approach would be to add a -q=3 which does what -q=2 does now,
  and make -q=2 suppress the progress indicators, but then what exactly
  is -q=1 doing? There must be some output that it does suppress, but
  I'm not able to tell what it is.

  ProblemType: Bug
  DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.04
  Package: apt 0.8.13.2ubuntu4.2
  ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.38-11.50-generic 2.6.38.8
  Uname: Linux 2.6.38-11-generic x86_64
  Architecture: amd64
  Date: Fri Oct 14 12:13:20 2011
  InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal" - Release amd64 (20110427.1)
  ProcEnviron:
   LANGUAGE=en_US:en
   PATH=(custom, user)
   LANG=en_US.UTF-8
   SHELL=/bin/bash
  SourcePackage: apt
  UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

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