When dselect is started it can perform the following commands,
either directly if it was specified on the command line or by
prompting the user with a menu of available commands if running
interactively:
access
Choose and configure an access method to access package
repositories.
By default, dselect provides several methods such as cdrom,
multi_cd, nfs, multi_nfs, harddisk, mounted, multi_mount or ftp,
but other packages may provide additional methods, eg. the apt
access method provided by the apt package.
The use of the apt access method is strongly recommended.
update
Refresh the available packages database.
Retrieves a list of available package versions from the package
repository, configured for the current access method, and update
the dpkg database. The package lists are commonly provided by the
repository as files named Packages or Packages.gz. These files
can be generated by repository maintainers, using the program
dpkg-scanpackages(1).
Details of the update command depend on the access method's
implementation. Normally the process is straightforward and
requires no user interaction.
select
View or manage package selections and dependencies.
This is the main function of dselect. In the select screen, the
user can review a list of all available and installed packages.
When run with administrator privileges, it is also possible to
interactively change packages selection state. dselect tracks the
implications of these changes to other depending or conflicting
packages.
When a conflict or failed depends is detected, a dependency
resolution subscreen is prompted to the user. In this screen, a
list of conflicting or depending packages is shown, and for each
package listed, the reason for its listing is shown. The user may
apply the suggestions proposed by dselect, override them, or back
out all the changes, including the ones that created the
unresolved depends or conflicts.
The use of the interactive package selections management screen
is explained in more detail below.
install
Installs selected packages.
The configured access method will fetch installable or upgradable
packages from the relevant repositories and install these using
dpkg. Depending on the implementation of the access method, all
packages can be prefetched before installation, or fetched when
needed. Some access methods may also remove packages that were
marked for removal.
If an error occurred during install, it is usually advisable to
run install again. In most cases, the problems will disappear or
be solved. If problems persist or the installation performed was
incorrect, please investigate into the causes and circumstances,
and file a bug in the Debian bug tracking system. Instructions on
how to do this can be found at https://bugs.debian.org/ or by
reading the documentation for bug(1) or reportbug(1), if these
are installed.
Details of the install command depend on the access method's
implementation. The user's attention and input may be required
during installation, configuration or removal of packages. This
depends on the maintainer scripts in the package. Some packages
make use of the debconf(1) library, allowing for more flexible or
even automated installation setups.
config
Configures any previously installed, but not fully configured
packages.
remove
Removes or purges installed packages, that are marked for
removal.
quit
Quit dselect.
Exits the program with zero (successful) errorcode.
