[GRLUG] Debian

[Roberto Villarreal]

JTR will probably have a 'more correct' response than this (as he seems 
to be *the* Debian guru around these parts), but for me, if I want to 
see what versions are available, I do 'apt-cache show [package]'... that 
will show you the available versions.  To override what debian wants to 
install for you, you can do 'apt-get install [package]/[state]'.  So if 
you wanted the testing version of mysql, you could do 'apt-get install 
mysql/testing'.  I know there is a way for your system to do this 
automatically... I believe it's called "pinning".  I've never used it, 
so I can't help you there.

Note, it isn't recommended to mix-n-match package states (i.e. putting 
'unstable' package on a 'testing' system).  That said, I do it quite 
frequently, and though it can be time-consuming and frustrating, I 
always end up with everything I want.

Roberto

David Pembrook wrote:
> How do you know what version of a given package is in what state (stable,testing...) I've always left machines stock in that regard but I want to try say... the newest MySQL.. Whenever I've use apt on redhat, I'm just getting the latest in the current major release but never a jump from say 3.x to 4.x which makes sence as they've made substantial changes and you need to be carefull doing that kind of jump. Is Debian going to let me specify using apt what version of MySQL I get for instance? 
> 
> Dave
> 
> 
> 
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