LKBEN11042: Howto print information about a package with dpkg on debian, ubuntu, kubuntu, knoppix, ...
Symptom
You need some background information about a package before installing it
Cause
none
Solution
You can use the dpkg command with the -I parameter.
Please note that you need a *.deb package as a parameter like:
dpkg -I <packagename.deb>
e.g.:
dpkg -I /var/cache/apt/archives/whois_4.7.20_amd64.deb
new debian package, version 2.0.
size 49384 bytes: control archive= 545 bytes.
596 bytes, 17 lines control
Package: whois
Version: 4.7.20
Section: net
Priority: standard
Architecture: amd64
Depends: libc6 (>= 2.3.5-1), libidn11 (>= 0.5.18)
Replaces: bsdmainutils (<= 4.5.1), bsdutils (<< 3.0-0)
Installed-Size: 284
Maintainer: Marco d'Itri <md@linux.it>
Description: the GNU whois client
This is a new whois (RFC 3912) client rewritten from scratch.
It is inspired from and compatible with the usual BSD and RIPE whois(1)
programs.
It is intelligent and can automatically select the appropriate whois
server for most queries.
.
The package also contains mkpasswd, a simple front end to crypt(3).
Disclaimer:
The information provided in this document is intended for your information only. Lubby makes no claims to the validity of this information. Use of this information is at own risk!About the Author
Author: - Keskon GmbH & Co. KG
Wim Peeters is electronics engineer with an additional master in IT and over 30 years of experience, including time spent in support, development, consulting, training and database administration. Wim has worked with SQL Server since version 6.5. He has developed in C/C++, Java and C# on Windows and Linux. He writes knowledge base articles to solve IT problems and publishes them on the Lubby Knowledge Platform.