Bug 16728

Summary: urpmi -a option doesn't work? (might be expected behaviour actually, but then the man page needs to be improved)
Product: Mageia Reporter: Mészáros Csaba <csablak>
Component: RPM PackagesAssignee: Mageia tools maintainers <mageiatools>
Status: NEW --- QA Contact:
Severity: normal    
Priority: High CC: davidwhodgins, mageia, marja11, pterjan, thierry.vignaud
Version: CauldronKeywords: USABILITY
Target Milestone: ---   
Hardware: x86_64   
OS: Linux   
Whiteboard: MGA7TOO
Source RPM: urpmi-8.123-1.mga8.src.rpm CVE:
Status comment:

Description Mészáros Csaba 2015-09-09 20:04:00 CEST
Description of problem:
urpmi -a option does not work

Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable):
urpmi-8.06-1.mga5

How reproducible:


Steps to Reproduce:
1. 
# urpmq -ry plymouth-theme
plymouth-theme-charge-0.8.6.1-13.mga5
plymouth-theme-fade-in-0.8.6.1-13.mga5
plymouth-theme-glow-0.8.6.1-13.mga5
plymouth-theme-script-0.8.6.1-13.mga5
plymouth-theme-solar-0.8.6.1-13.mga5
plymouth-theme-spinfinity-0.8.6.1-13.mga5
plymouth-theme-spinner-0.8.6.1-13.mga5

2. # rpm -qa | grep plymouth-theme

3. man urpmi -- go Package Selection
-a  If multiple packages match the given substring, install them all.

4. urpmi --help
-a - kijelölés a parancssorban megadott minta szerint (hu)
-a - according to selection of the sample command line (translate)

5. # urpmi -a plymouth-theme 
Nincs ilyen nevű csomag: plymouth-theme
(There is no package with the same name: plymouth-theme)

What happened to the -a option?


Reproducible: 

Steps to Reproduce:
Comment 1 Samuel Verschelde 2015-09-10 10:23:40 CEST
I'm not sure it's a bug in the way -a works, although it is indeed confusing. I think you need to add the -y switch to -a, but the man page does suggest we can use substrings. I think it's the man page that needs fixing.

Assigning to maintainer.

Assignee: bugsquad => thierry.vignaud

Comment 2 Mészáros Csaba 2015-09-22 01:35:45 CEST
It looks to the "-a" option of either not working elsewhere.

$ rpm -q cle
package cle is not installed

$ rpm -qa cle

$ rpm -qa cle*
clementine-1.2.3-5.mga5

One partition is still there watching the mageia 1.
I recall, as if it would have worked in other things. I'll check.
Comment 3 Samuel Verschelde 2015-09-22 09:34:04 CEST
urpmi and rpm have totally separated implementations so there's nothing to compare here.

By the way, behaviour in comment #2 seems perfectly normal to me.

Summary: urpmi -a option not work => urpmi -a option doesn't work? (might be expected behaviour actually)

Comment 4 Mészáros Csaba 2016-03-08 20:30:22 CET
I see this problem not addressed by anyone. :(
urpmi -a - not work
urpme -a - work
Comment 5 Marja Van Waes 2017-12-02 12:25:44 CET
(In reply to Mészáros Csaba from comment #4)
> I see this problem not addressed by anyone. :(
> urpmi -a - not work
> urpme -a - work

I can confirm, but "urpmi -ya" does work, as stormi said.

It is confusing, though:

man urpmi

> -y, --fuzzy
>     Disable fast search on exact package name; that means that urpmi will
>     propose all packages matching part of the name, even if one of them
>     matches exactly the specified name.


>  -a  If multiple packages match the given substring, install them all.



man urpme:

>  -a  If multiple packages match the given substring, deinstall them all.

Summary: urpmi -a option doesn't work? (might be expected behaviour actually) => urpmi -a option doesn't work? (might be expected behaviour actually, but then the man page needs to be improved)
CC: (none) => mageiatools, marja11
Keywords: (none) => USABILITY

Marja Van Waes 2018-10-02 10:14:10 CEST

Assignee: thierry.vignaud => mageiatools
CC: mageiatools => thierry.vignaud
Whiteboard: (none) => MGA6TOO
Version: 5 => Cauldron

Comment 6 Nicolas Lécureuil 2019-02-21 22:46:13 CET
is this bug still valid ?

CC: (none) => mageia

Comment 7 Dave Hodgins 2019-02-22 00:24:29 CET
Still valid in cauldron. Nothing has changed in how urpmi works, or the
man page.

CC: (none) => davidwhodgins

Comment 8 Mészáros Csaba 2019-02-25 11:37:23 CET
Mageia 6.1 - it's still not working.
Comment 9 Mészáros Csaba 2020-08-28 22:11:45 CEST
Mageia 7.1 - it's still not working.
Aurelien Oudelet 2020-08-28 22:31:07 CEST

Whiteboard: MGA6TOO => MGA7TOO
Source RPM: urpmi => urpmi-8.123-1.mga8.src.rpm

Comment 10 Mészáros Csaba 2021-04-06 08:56:03 CEST
Mageia 8 - Unfortunately, the man was still not fixed

$ rpm -q urpmi
urpmi-8.125-1.mga8

$ man urpmi | grep '\-a '
       -a  If multiple packages match the given substring, install them all.
Comment 11 Mészáros Csaba 2022-12-23 19:41:32 CET
Still nothing? :(
Lewis Smith 2022-12-23 22:00:51 CET

Priority: Normal => High

Comment 12 Pascal Terjan 2022-12-24 14:12:35 CET
This seems to me like a documentation problem, especially for the man page but -a works (with or without -y).

-a makes it install all packages that match the request instead of asking to pick one if there is more than one. If -y is used this will be all packages with that substring, if -y is not it will be all the packages which provide that exact name (unless -P is passed which disables searching in provides).

For example "urpmi -a kernel" will install all possible kernels.


The help says: 
-a             - select all matches on command line.

The man page says:
-a  If multiple packages match the given substring, install them all.

The help is correct but not clear, the man page is wrong.

CC: (none) => pterjan

Comment 13 Pascal Terjan 2022-12-25 19:47:32 CET
I tried to update the man page at https://gitweb.mageia.org/software/rpm/urpmi/commit/?id=411c99a99c18906d4204874a920980b9037c8658

Thierry, please you confirm this is correct.
Others, please confirm this is clear or propose an improvement.