List of user installed apps

[Willy Hamra]

2009/8/29 Bruce MacArthur <bmacasuru at fastmail.us>:
> On Friday 28 August 2009 08:45:32 pm Nigel Ridley wrote:
>> Willy Hamra wrote:
>> > 2009/8/28 Nigel Ridley <nigel at prayingforisrael.net>:
>> >> Earl Violet wrote:
>> >>> --- On Fri, 8/28/09, Nigel Ridley <nigel at prayingforisrael.net>
> wrote:
>> >>>
>> >>>> From: Nigel Ridley <nigel at prayingforisrael.net>
>> >>>> Subject: List of user installed apps
>> >>>> To: "Kubuntu Help and User Discussions" <kubuntu-
> users at lists.ubuntu.com>
>> >>>> Date: Friday, August 28, 2009, 5:43 AM
>> >>>> How do I get a list of user installed
>> >>>> apps? (getting prepared 9.10).
>> >>>> Blessings,
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Nigel
>> >>> Are they in /opt?
>> >>>
>> >>> Earl
>> >>>
>> >> Just Firefox 3.0 and Adobe Reader 9. But those really were manual
> installs that I downloaded from
>> >> their respective websites and manually copied them to /opt
>> >>
>> >> I was referring to those that I did:
>> >> 'sudo apt-get install package_name'
>> >>
>> >> Blessings,
>> >>
>> >> Nigel
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >
>> > Nigel, i asked a similar question a while ago, let me quote from the
>> > ancient thread:
>> >
>> > Willy K. Hamra wrote:
>> >> i cleaned my system from almost all the packages i don't want,
> digging
>> >> through the installed packages for more unnecessary ones, which i
> guess
>> >> is a good enough punishment for my lack of organization, random
> apt-get
>> >> sprees, and installing loads of packages at once without bothering
> to
>> >> read through them, just because some website suggested so :-P
>> >
>> > Willy,
>> >
>> > I don't think there is anything to worry about. Even if you don't
> use
>> > aptitude, you should be able to achieve what you want. For some
> reason,
>> > I only use apt-get and not aptitude ('cos I am familiar with it),
> and I
>> > like to achieve exactly what you are looking for.
>> >
>> > Declaratively, what you want is:
>> > You want to move from version A to version B (could be, that for a
> fresh
>> > re-install, A = B).
>> >
>> > You want to:
>> > -----------
>> >
>> > - Start with a clean install of version B
>> > - NOT remove any packages that are part of the default install of
>> > version B (safety)
>> >
>> > - Know what additional packages you installed in version A - List1
>> >
>> > - Derive the "top-level" packages that you asked for and not list
> all
>> > the new packages include those installed as dependencies - List2
>> >
>> > - Use either List1 or List2 to quickly get Version B as close as
>> > possible to the current state of Version A
>> >
>> > Declaratively this becomes:
>> > --------------------------
>> >
>> > Amongst the packages currently installed, select those that are not
> part
>> > of the default install - List 1
>> >
>> > Amongst List 1, select those that are "orphans" (top-level packages)
> - List2
>> >
>> > To do this, all you need are the standard tools (dpkg, grep cut etc)
> and
>> > deborphan. From the man page: "deborphan finds  packages that have
> no
>> > packages depending on them. The default operation is to search only
>> > within the libs  and  oldlibs  sections to hunt down unused
> libraries".
>> > If it's not installed you should install deborphan.
>> >
>> > On the clean install (even if it is a new distro), run
>> > dpkg --get-selections | cut -f1 -d '    '> default-list
>> >
>> > Note that the character between single quotes after cut -d is a TAB
>> > (enter it using CRTL-V, CTRL-TAB on the command line)
>> >
>> > You can do this e.g. by booting the LiveCD of your current (or new)
>> > distro. If you use the live-cd, copy default-list to some place on
> your
>> > currently installed version and reboot into your current version.
>> >
>> > In the current version run
>> > dpkg --get-selections | cut -f1 -d '    '> current-list
>> >
>> > Note that the character between single quotes after cut -d is a TAB
>> > (enter it using CRTL-V, CTRL-TAB on the command line)
>> >
>> > In the current version run
>> > deborphan --no-show-section -a > current-top-level
>> >
>> > cat current-list | grep -vFx -f default-list > new-packages
>> > This (new-packages) is List1
>> >
>> > cat new-packages| grep -Fx -f current-top-level > packages-to-
> install
>> > This (packages-to-install) is List2
>> >
>> > If you want to just install Version B and get it as close to your
>> > current state of version A as possible, I would recommend you do the
>> > default install, and then install everything in List1 (can also use
>> > List2 if you want).
>> >
>> > If you want to peruse the list of top-level packages you have asked
> for
>> > and installed, that is List2 - you MUST have asked for all these,
> since
>> > they are top-level packages. Note that there MAY be other packages
> that
>> > you had asked for and installed that are not in List2 but are in
> List1,
>> > but do not appear in List2 because they are no longer top-level
>> > "orphans" because since then you installed another package that
> depends
>> > on these.
>> >
>> > Hope this helps.
>> >
>> > Sundar Nagarajan
>> >
>> >
>>
>> Wow! That really is a complete 'Howto'.
>> Just one thing that I'm not sure about -- the part about
>>
>>  > Note that the character between single quotes after cut -d is a TAB
>>  > (enter it using CRTL-V, CTRL-TAB on the command line)
>>
>> Can you explain the 'CRTL-V, CTRL-TAB' part.
>>
>> Blessings,
>>
>> Nigel
>
> I think that in most applications, the key-chord "Ctrl+V" is the
> equivalent of "Edit --> Paste"  This is not true in Konsole -- where the
> result is "^V"!  I could physically observe nothing when I similarly
> entered "Ctrl+{Tab}".
>
>

indeed, these never worked with me. the easiest way, open a text
editor that recognizes the "TAB" key, and doesn't replace it with a
series of spaces. i believe kate works well here. type a "TAB" key,
select and copy it, then paste it in konsole using your mouse, or
using CTRL+SHIFT+V.


-- 
Willy K. Hamra
Manager of Hamra Information Systems