What Is a Package Index File
In the Following Statement About "Apt-Get Update" from Linux. Die. Net Is the Term "Package Index File": Used to Re-Synchronize the Package Index Files from...
In the following statement about "apt-get update" from linux.die.net is the term "package index file":
Used to re-synchronize the package index files from their sources. ...
What exactly does "package index file" mean? Google has not given me any answer about this.
3 Answers
The "package index files" contain information about the packages a package repository provides. APT stores them in /var/lib/apt/lists
The package index file is a file that contains information about the packages present in a repository for use with apt. The format is described here:
The APT package index is essentially a database of available packages from the repositories defined in the /etc/apt/sources.list file and in the /etc/apt/sources.list.d directory. To update the local package index with the latest changes made in the repositories, type the following:
sudo apt update
To upgrade your system, first, update your package index as outlined above, and then type:
sudo apt upgrade
I would suggest to read for further details.
Example: CMD to run :
cat /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mysql.list
This command list the mysql repos. Visit and you will find the actual hosted files. Output:
deb bionic mysql-apt-config
deb bionic mysql-5.7
deb bionic mysql-tools
#deb bionic mysql-tools-preview
deb-src bionic mysql-5.7
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