Can anyone tell me exactly what this Pin line I have actually does - or even better point me to a webpage that has more than "if you want to do this use this" type of example?
(FTAOD I know that this isn't right and is inconsistent but before I start changing it I want to really understand what it's currently doing) I have a local repository: Codename: buster Components: main Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2021 19:42:12 +0000 Description: Debs for local installing Label: local debs Origin: local debs Suite: oldstable And I have a pin (which I've failed to update since bullseye became stable hence the a=stable) Package: * Pin: release o=local debs,a=stable,n=buster,l=local debs,c=main,b=amd64 Pin-Priority: 900 What I want this to do is hold any package in my local repository even if a newer version is present in debian. My local repository has patched packages for various reasons - e.g. linphone/oldstable,now 3.12.0-3+tjw10r1 amd64 [installed] linphonec in buster has a bug that causes a core on answering a call. I've applied the patch locally. Were a new buster build to happen (unlikely now but not impossible if there's a serious security issue found) I'd want my local version to stay until I patch the new version. This pin has worked successfully for me throughout buster's lifetime - however when looking at it now to correct that a=stable I noticed that https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/apt-howto/ch-apt-get.en.html suggests that I should be pinning at 990, not 900. Also, I don't know if this pin is working with a=stable or it's actually not doing anything useful any more. I cannot find anything that tells me how the Pin: line actually matches. I don't even know whether the options on that Pin line are AND or ORed together. The example on the webpage has: Package: * Pin: release v=2.2*,a=stable,c=main,o=Debian,l=Debian Pin-Priority: 1001 When debian went from v2.2 potato to v3 woody, would this pin stop working? Because woody would be stable and potato oldstable at that point. I'm trying to solve a (minor) problem I'm having during upgrades from buster to bullseye where I've backported make from bullseye to buster. So on my buster systems I have: make/oldstable,now 4.3-4.1+tjw10r1 amd64 [installed] while once I've upgraded to bullseye I want to "downgrade" from my backported package to make 4.3-4.1 and then continue to track bullseye. I'm trying to work out what Pin line I want (ideally generic rather than package specific - dump has exactly the same feature) but at the same time I do not want my buster systems to install squid 4.6-1+deb10u7 (should it ever be created) over my patched 4.6-1+deb10u6+tjw10r1 but instead hold my patched package until I patch deb10u7. (ditto bullseye where I have squid/stable,now 4.13-10+tjw11r1) For now I just manually apt-get install make=4.3-4.1 to fix it. But if make built on buster had failed to work on bullseye then my package could have made a mess of the upgrade if any packages are using make during configuation. Tim.
