[Dclug] Debian APT Configuration (Was "Last Steps in DSL ...)

[Michael P. McCarthy]

     Zachariah Mully wrote:

> ... though you can look at your queues by hand, I'd recommend
> using something like pfqueue (pretty sure you can just apt-get
> this in sarge) to manage your Postfix queues.

     I also run Debian Sarge with Postfix on my home system.  The
package search feature at < debian.org > shows that "pfqueue" is
part of something called "sarge-backports".  Further poking around
reveals an entire package list structure for these backports --
which could be a godsend for those of us who want "some" new
functionality, but not the scattershot alteration of our entire
user experience that comes with updating to a new GNU/Linux
release.

     Anyway, running "apt-get update" doesn't pick up a reference
to "pfqueue" on my system.  My "/etc/apt/sources.list" file simply
references the old stable (Sarge) distribution and only the "main"
component (not "contrib" or "non-free").

     Google reveals no information about what to add to this APT
configuration file to pick up the backports.  In fact, Google
doesn't turn up much about "sarge-backports" at all.  Alas, the
search feature for the Debian website is broken, but I don't
assume that the Debian webiste contains documentation on this
topic anyway.  (Past experience yields a pessimistic point of
view.)

     I'm not an apt/dpkg expert.  If there's a way to probe APT
servers and report the available components (for use in the
"sources.list" file), I don't know about it.  Alternatively, it
would be useful to know of a website that provides this info
directly.  If there's a command that reports a list of servers
that are available, I don't know about that either.  (I rely on
the list at < debian.org >.)  Heck, I don't know if there is a
way to list the contents of a given distribution/component on a
specific server without actually downloading the list to my system
via "apt-get update".

     Any advice/suggestions from Debian gurus/users on this list?
Note that I'm reluctant to simply experiment with guessing changes
to the "sources.list" file for fear of installing versions of
backported code that are incompatible with other software.  I'd
hate to see a boatload of shared libraries replaced due to package
dependencies and consequently suffer the dreaded system behavior
changes (including altered defaults) that inevitably follow.


-- Michael (amazed at how advanced software can be,
            and how primitive is the associated documentation) McCarthy
   E-mail:    < mpmcleod (at) pobox (dot) com >

P.S. GNOME -- can't help hating it, but you gotta love it ...
Ditto for KDE, Xfce, CDE, and a whole lotta window managers out
there.  You can say the same for MacOS and Windows/*.  (Don't you
just love being a user interface guinea pig? ;-)  Especially when
you're on deadline ...