NOTE: click here if you get an empty page.

PKG_VERSION(1)		FreeBSD General Commands Manual 	PKG_VERSION(1)


NAME

     pkg_version -- summarize installed versions of packages


SYNOPSIS

     pkg_version [-cdhv] [-l limchar] [-L limchar] [-s string] [index]
     pkg_version [-t version1 version2]


DESCRIPTION

     The pkg_version command is used to produce a report of non-base software
     packages installed using the pkg_add(1) command.

     Each package's version number is checked against one of two sources to
     see if that package may require updating.	If the package contains infor-
     mation about its origin in the FreeBSD ports tree, and a version number
     can be determined from the port's Makefile, then the version number from
     the Makefile will be used to determine whether the installed package is
     up-to-date or requires updating.

     If no origin for a package can be found, or if the port's Makefile cannot
     be located, pkg_version will search for the package in the ports collec-
     tion index file (typically /usr/ports/INDEX).  Any matching version num-
     ber(s) there will be used to determine whether the installed package is
     up-to-date or requires updating.

     Generally, using the version number from a port's Makefile will provide a
     more accurate result, since, unlike the index file, it provides an unam-
     biguous current version number, even when multiple versions of a port
     exist in the ports collection.  Moreover, the ports collection index file
     is only updated at intervals, meaning that it may not completely reflect
     the version numbers of the software contained in the ports collection.

     Each package name is printed, along with a one-character status flag:

     =	     The installed version of the package is current.

     <	     The installed version of the package is older than the current
	     version.

     >	     The installed version of the package is newer than the current
	     version.  This situation can arise with an out-of-date index
	     file, or when testing new ports.

     ?	     The installed package does not appear in the index.  This could
	     be due to an out of date index or a package taken from a PR that
	     has not yet been committed.

     *	     There are multiple versions of a particular software package
	     listed in the index file.	Examples from the FreeBSD ports col-
	     lection are the Tcl toolkit or the EMACS editor.

     !	     The installed package exists in the index but for some reason,
	     pkg_version was unable to compare the version number of the
	     installed package with the corresponding entry in the index.


OPTIONS

     The pkg_version utility supports several command-line arguments:

     -c      Enable commands output.  Commands output includes the commands
	     you should type to update your installed packages to the latest
	     versions in the ports system.  This feature does not constitute
	     an automated packages updating system.  The output of this com-
	     mand must be edited, in order to avoid destroying dependencies
	     between installed packages.

     -d      Enable debugging output.

     -h      Print help message.

     -l      Limit the output to those packages whose status flag matches the
	     character(s) in limchar.  More than one character can be speci-
	     fied in limchar.  Note that because some of the status flag char-
	     acters are also special to the shell, it is best to quote limchar
	     with single quotes.

     -L      Limit the output to those packages whose status flag doesn't
	     match limchar.  You may specify more than one character to match
	     in limchar.  Note that because some of the status flag characters
	     are also special to the shell, it is best to quote limchar with
	     single quotes.

     -s      Limit the output to those packages whose names match a given
	     string.

     -t      Test a pair of version number strings and exit.  The output con-
	     sists of one of the single characters = (equal), < (right-hand
	     number greater), or > (left-hand number greater) on standard out-
	     put.  This flag is mostly useful for scripts or for testing.

     -v      Enable verbose output.  Verbose output includes some English-text
	     interpretations of the version number comparisons, as well as the
	     version numbers compared for each package.  Non-verbose output is
	     probably easier for programs or scripts to parse.

     index   Specify the index to be used as a basis of comparison.  This
	     index can be specified as a filename (in the local filesystem) or
	     a URL.  Any URL understandable by fetch(1) can be used here.  If
	     no index file is specified on the command line, /usr/ports/INDEX
	     is used.


SEE ALSO

     fetch(1), pkg_add(1), pkg_create(1), pkg_delete(1), pkg_info(1)


FILES

     /usr/ports/INDEX  Default index file.


EXAMPLES

     The following is a typical invocation of the pkg_version command, which
     checks the installed packages against the local ports index file:

	   % pkg_version -v

     The command below generates a report against the version numbers in the
     on-line ports collection:

	   % pkg_version
	   ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.org/pub/FreeBSD/branches/-current/ports/INDEX

     The command below generates a file of commands to run to update the
     installed files.  These commands must not be run without suitable edit-
     ing.  They should be treated as suggestions, and may need to be reordered
     to account for dependencies between installed packages, or may need to be
     disregarded if multiple versions of an installed package can coexist.
     Blindly running the output of this command may leave a system in an unus-
     able state.

	   % pkg_version -c > do_update

     The following command compares two package version strings:

	   % pkg_version -t 1.5 1.5.1


AUTHORS

     Bruce A. Mah <bmah@FreeBSD.org>


CONTRIBUTORS

     Nik Clayton <nik@FreeBSD.org>, Dominic Mitchell <dom@palmerharvey.co.uk>,
     Mark Ovens <marko@FreeBSD.org>, Doug Barton <DougB@gorean.org>, Akinori
     MUSHA <knu@FreeBSD.org>


BUGS

     The commands output feature is not an automated ports/packages updating
     system.  It does not even attempt to handle dependencies between
     installed packages correctly, and can produce incorrect results if multi-
     ple versions of a package can coexist on a system.

     Commands output assumes you install new software using the ports system,
     rather than using pkg_add(1).

FreeBSD 4.9			 July 17, 1998			   FreeBSD 4.9
[Home] [Search] [Index] This site maintained by www@www-sbras.nsc.ru