what do you want to see in future apt versions ?

[Ralf Mardorf]

On Thu, 4 Jun 2020 23:58:53 +0800, Bret Busby wrote:
>A call was made for suggestions for what people would like to see in
>changes to apt, and, if you and Ralf did not make, or do not agree
>with the suggestions you made, you loudly denigrate the suggestions.

This is apt-get:

http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/focal/man8/apt-get.8.html

This is apt:

http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/focal/man8/apt.8.html

You are confusing one with the other. 'apt' is an approach to provide
the changes you want to get for 'apt-get'.

On Thu, 4 Jun 2020 09:10:06 -0700, rikona wrote:
>"Full" is also ambiguous - I want everything updated in
>my current version, so do a full upgrade.

The difference between 'upgrade' and 'dist-upgrade' or 'full-upgrade'
requires some understanding. Why is it sometimes needed to remove a
package and why isn't it sometimes needed? It becomes even more
complex, if you upgrade from one to another Ubuntu release. What are
meta-packages in the first place? What are meta-packages for transition
purpose?

On Thu, 04 Jun 2020 12:13:01 -0400, Paul Smith wrote:
>Changing documentation is straightforward.
>
>Changing commands is hard.

Changing commands is especially tricky, by keeping backwards
compatibility.

Changing the documentation is a balancing act.

For one user it doesn't provide enough information, for another user it
already provides too much information.

Understanding man pages requires experience. If a man page is
confusing for an user, it's better to take a look at help pages, Wikis
etc..

The 'apt' man page isn't perfect. However, it's not easy to reach the
target, making the 'apt' man page easy to understand, by still providing
detailed information, if details should be important, especially since
'apt' is intended to provide an easier to understand, a less confusing
replacement for several apt-foo and dpkg commands. It even does
replace gdebi.