hello,
the dpkg package manager doesn't give a package description for uninstalled packages. A sample output of dpkg -l '*mysql*' is given below:
Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold | Status=Not/Installed/Config-files/Unpacked/Failed-config/Half-installed |/ Err?=(none)/Hold/Reinst-required/X=both-problems (Status,Err: uppercase=bad) ||/ Name Version Description +++-=======================-=======================-============================================================== ii dbf2mysql 1.14a-3 xBase <--> MySQL un gda2-mysql <none> (no description available) ii libdbd-mysql-perl 2.9003-3 A Perl5 database interface to the MySQL database un libmysqlclient-dev <none> (no description available) ii libmysqlclient10 3.23.56-2 LGPL-licensed client library for MySQL databases ii libmysqlclient12 4.0.22-2 mysql database client library un libmysqlclient6 <none> (no description available) un libmysqlclient6-dev <none> (no description available) un libmysqlclient9 <none> (no description available) un libmysqlclient9-dev <none> (no description available) un libqt3c102-mt-mysql <none> (no description available) un mysql <none> (no description available) ii mysql-admin 1.0.14-1 GUI tool for intuitive MySQL administration ii mysql-admin-common 1.0.14-1 Architecture independent files for MySQL Administrator un mysql-base <none> (no description available) ii mysql-client 4.0.22-2 mysql database client binaries ii mysql-common 4.0.22-2 mysql database common files (e.g. /etc/mysql/my.cnf) un mysql-dev <none> (no description available) un mysql-devel <none> (no description available) un mysql-doc <none> (no description available) un mysql-gpl-client <none> (no description available) ii mysql-query-browser 1.1.1-2 Official GUI tool to query MySQL database ii mysql-query-browser-com 1.1.1-2 Architecture independent files for MySQL Query Browser ii mysql-server 4.0.22-2 mysql database server binaries un virtual-mysql-server <none> (no description available)
I'm using a freshly installed and up to date version of Debian Sarge. In Woody uninstalled packages had a description for installed as well as uninstalled packages by default. I would like to get the descriptions back as it is really bad when you don't see the description of a package that you might want to install.
Thanks. Alexander
