1

This is probably a dumb question--I'm pretty new to Linux, so I apologize in advance.

Doing some research for a gestures app, I discovered libinput-gestures. This Medium article suggests that it is compatible with Ubuntu 20.04. I know that I had installed something similar, and now I want to check if that was the one I had installed. With that background, I did some investigating into how to check if packages are installed. I found apt list --installed and dpkg --list. I know that if I filter down to apt list --installed | grep lib I do see a couple of lib-type packages, as does dkpg --list | grep libinput.

My question is twofold--what are these two package managers used for (clearly they serve different purposes, but Zanna's answer here suggests that the two operate together in some capacity), and how do I know where to search for a package like libinput-gestures?

Yehuda
  • 578
  • 1
  • 4
  • 19
  • Does this website answer your question? You can search for APT there as well. https://linux.die.net/man/1/dpkg – Raffles Jul 12 '20 at 22:02
  • Do your searching in apt (See https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/104592/what-is-the-difference-between-apt-get-and-dpkg for why). Note that nobody has packaged libinput-gestures for Debian/Ubuntu, so you WILL find [the dependencies](https://github.com/bulletmark/libinput-gestures), but you WON'T find a package by that name. Neither apt nor dpkg install random github files. – user535733 Jul 12 '20 at 22:13
  • Related: [Distinction between apt-cache and dpkg -l](https://askubuntu.com/questions/1124914/distinction-between-apt-cache-and-dpkg-l) – Eliah Kagan Jul 12 '20 at 22:19
  • The most significant difference from a user POV is probably that `apt` (and `apt-get`) automatically take care of package dependencies. See for example [Do Dpkg and apt-get install dependencies?](https://askubuntu.com/questions/20031/do-dpkg-and-apt-get-install-dependencies) – steeldriver Jul 12 '20 at 22:19
  • 2
    Does this answer your question? [What is the difference between dpkg and aptitude/apt-get?](https://askubuntu.com/questions/309113/what-is-the-difference-between-dpkg-and-aptitude-apt-get) – Ajay Jul 13 '20 at 02:39
  • @Ajay That definitely answers my question about how `dpkg` and `apt` act in tandem, thanks. The follow-up question is, if `apt` essentially manages packages the same way `dpkg` does, and does it better in a way, then why do I see different packages when I run `apt list` vs. `dpkg --list`? – Yehuda Jul 13 '20 at 13:16

1 Answers1

1

  1. The question "What is the difference between apt and dpkg?" is a duplicate of https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/104592/what-is-the-difference-between-apt-get-and-dpkg.

    Short answer: They do different jobs, and work together. Most of your interaction will be with apt.

  2. Your REAL question seems to be "How do I install libinput-gestures?"

    Answer: You follow the install instructions at https://github.com/bulletmark/libinput-gestures

    Nobody has packaged libinput-gestures for Debian/Ubuntu, so you will find the dependencies in the Ubuntu repositories and installable by apt, but you WON'T find a package by that name.

    Neither apt nor dpkg install random github files.

user535733
  • 58,040
  • 10
  • 106
  • 136