dpkg-split(1)                   dpkg utilities                   dpkg-split(1)



NAME
       dpkg-split - Debian package archive split/join tool

SYNOPSIS
       dpkg-split [option...] command

DESCRIPTION
       dpkg-split  splits  Debian  binary package files into smaller parts and
       reassembles them again, to support the storage of large  package  files
       on small media such as floppy disks.

       It  can  be  operated  manually  using  the  --split, --join and --info
       options.

       It also has an automatic mode, invoked using the --auto  option,  where
       it maintains a queue of parts seen but not yet reassembled and reassem-
       bles a package file when it has seen all of its parts. The --listq  and
       --discard options allow the management of the queue.

       All splitting, joining and queueing operations produce informative mes-
       sages on standard output; these may safely be ignored.

COMMANDS
       -s, --split complete-archive [prefix]
              Splits a single Debian binary package into several parts.

              The parts are named prefix.NofM.deb where N is the part  number,
              starting at 1, and M is the total number of parts (both in deci-
              mal).

              If no prefix is supplied then the complete-archive  filename  is
              taken, including directory, with any trailing .deb removed.

       -j, --join part...
              Joins  the  parts  of  a package file together, reassembling the
              original file as it was before it was split.

              The part files given as arguments  must  be  all  the  parts  of
              exactly  the  same  original  binary  file. Each part must occur
              exactly once in the argument list, though the parts to not  need
              to be listed in order.

              The  parts  must of course all have been generated with the same
              part size specified at split time, which means  that  they  must
              usually have been generated by the same invocation of dpkg-split
              --split.

              The parts' filenames are  not  significant  for  the  reassembly
              process.

              By default the output file is called package_version_arch.deb.


       -I, --info part...
              Prints  information,  in a human-readable format, about the part
              file(s) specified. Arguments which are not binary package  parts
              produce  a message saying so instead (but still on standard out-
              put).

       -a, --auto -o complete-output part
              Automatically queue parts and reassemble a package if possible.

              The part specified is examined, and compared with other parts of
              the same package (if any) in the queue of packages file parts.

              If  all  parts  of  the package file of which part is a part are
              available then the package is reassembled and  written  to  com-
              plete-output  (which  should  not  usually already exist, though
              this is not an error).

              If not then the part is copied into the queue and  complete-out-
              put is not created.

              If  part is not a split binary package part then dpkg-split will
              exit with status 1; if some other trouble occurs  then  it  will
              exit with status 2.

              The  --output  or  -o option must be supplied when using --auto.
              (If this were not mandatory the calling program would  not  know
              what output file to expect.)

       -l, --listq
              Lists the contents of the queue of packages to be reassembled.

              For each package file of which parts are in the queue the output
              gives the name of the package, the parts in the queue,  and  the
              total number of bytes stored in the queue.

       -d, --discard [package...]
              This  discards  parts  from  the  queue of those waiting for the
              remaining parts of their packages.

              If no package is specified then the queue is cleared completely;
              if  any are specified then only parts of the relevant package(s)
              are deleted.

       -?, --help
              Show the usage message and exit.

       --version
              Show the version and exit.

OPTIONS
       --depotdir directory
              Specifies an alternative directory for the queue of parts await-
              ing automatic reassembly. The default is /var/lib/dpkg.

       -S, --partsize kibibytes
              Specifies  the  maximum  part  size when splitting, in kibibytes
              (1024 bytes). The default is 450 KiB.

       -o, --output complete-output
              Specifies the output file name for a reassembly.

              This overrides the default for a manual reassembly (--join)  and
              is mandatory for an automatic queue-or-reassemble (--auto).

       -Q, --npquiet
              When  doing  automatic  queue-or-reassembly  dpkg-split  usually
              prints a message if it is given a part  that  is  not  a  binary
              package part. This option suppresses this message, to allow pro-
              grams such as dpkg to cope with both split and unsplit  packages
              without producing spurious messages.

       --msdos
              Forces  the  output  filenames generated by --split to be msdos-
              compatible.

              This mangles the prefix - either the default  derived  from  the
              input filename or the one supplied as an argument: alphanumerics
              are lowercased, plus signs are replaced by  x's  and  all  other
              characters are discarded.

              The  result is then truncated as much as is necessary, and file-
              names of the form prefixNofM.deb are generated.

EXIT STATUS
       0      The requested split, merge, or other command succeeded.   --info
              commands  count  as  successful even if the files are not binary
              package parts.

       1      Only occurs with --auto and indicates that the part file was not
              a binary package part.

       2      Some  kind of trouble happened, such as a system call failure, a
              file that looked like a package part file but was  corrupted,  a
              usage error or some other problem.

FILES
       /var/lib/dpkg/parts
              The  default  queue  directory for part files awaiting automatic
              reassembly.

              The filenames used in this directory are in a format internal to
              dpkg-split  and are unlikely to be useful to other programs, and
              in any case the filename format should not be relied upon.

BUGS
       Full details of the packages in the queue are impossible to get without
       digging into the queue directory yourself.

       There  is no easy way to test whether a file that may be a binary pack-
       age part is one.

SEE ALSO
       deb(5), deb-control(5), dpkg-deb(1), dpkg(1).



Debian Project                    2011-07-04                     dpkg-split(1)
