I was trying to install Skype on Ubuntu 13.04, from the Canonical repositories. With apt-get it worked easily, while aptitude had a huge problem with dependencies and proposed a complicated solution. Why is this so? Why doesn't aptitude offer whatever apt-get does as a potential solution? Here is the output of both:
apt-get install skype:
Reading package lists...
Building dependency tree...
Reading state information...
The following extra packages will be installed:
gcc-4.7-base:i386 libasound2 libasound2:i386 libasound2-plugins:i386
libasyncns0:i386 libaudio2:i386 libavahi-client3:i386
libavahi-common-data:i386 libavahi-common3:i386 libc6:i386 libcomerr2:i386
libcups2:i386 libdbus-1-3 libdbus-1-3:i386 libdbusmenu-qt2:i386
libdrm-intel1 libdrm-intel1:i386 libdrm-nouveau2 libdrm-nouveau2:i386
libdrm-radeon1 libdrm-radeon1:i386 libdrm2 libdrm2:i386 libexpat1:i386
libffi6:i386 libflac8:i386 libfontconfig1:i386 libfreetype6:i386
libgcc1:i386 libgcrypt11 libgcrypt11:i386 libgl1-mesa-dri
libgl1-mesa-dri:i386 libgl1-mesa-glx:i386 libglapi-mesa:i386
libglib2.0-0:i386 libgnutls26 libgnutls26:i386 libgpg-error0:i386
libgssapi-krb5-2:i386 libgstreamer-plugins-base0.10-0:i386
libgstreamer0.10-0:i386 libice6:i386 libjack-jackd2-0:i386 libjbig0:i386
libjpeg-turbo8:i386 libjpeg8:i386 libjson0:i386 libk5crypto3:i386
libkeyutils1:i386 libkrb5-3:i386 libkrb5support0:i386 liblcms1:i386
libllvm3.2:i386 liblzma5:i386 libmng1:i386 libmysqlclient18:i386
libogg0:i386 liborc-0.4-0:i386 libp11-kit0:i386 libpciaccess0:i386
libpcre3:i386 libpng12-0:i386 libpulse0:i386 libqt4-dbus libqt4-dbus:i386
libqt4-declarative libqt4-declarative:i386 libqt4-designer libqt4-help
libqt4-network libqt4-network:i386 libqt4-opengl libqt4-opengl:i386
libqt4-script libqt4-script:i386 libqt4-scripttools libqt4-sql
libqt4-sql:i386 libqt4-sql-mysql:i386 libqt4-sql-sqlite libqt4-svg
libqt4-test libqt4-xml libqt4-xml:i386 libqt4-xmlpatterns
libqt4-xmlpatterns:i386 libqtcore4 libqtcore4:i386 libqtgui4 libqtgui4:i386
libqtwebkit4:i386 libsamplerate0:i386 libselinux1:i386 libsm6:i386
libsndfile1:i386 libspeexdsp1:i386 libsqlite3-0:i386 libssl1.0.0
libssl1.0.0:i386 libstdc++6:i386 libtasn1-3:i386 libtiff5 libtiff5:i386
libtxc-dxtn-s2tc0:i386 libuuid1:i386 libvorbis0a:i386 libvorbisenc2:i386
libwrap0:i386 libx11-6 libx11-6:i386 libx11-xcb1 libx11-xcb1:i386
libxau6:i386 libxcb-dri2-0 libxcb-dri2-0:i386 libxcb-glx0 libxcb-glx0:i386
libxcb1 libxcb1:i386 libxdamage1:i386 libxdmcp6:i386 libxext6 libxext6:i386
libxfixes3 libxfixes3:i386 libxi6 libxi6:i386 libxml2 libxml2:i386
libxrender1 libxrender1:i386 libxslt1.1:i386 libxss1:i386 libxt6 libxt6:i386
libxv1 libxv1:i386 libxxf86vm1 libxxf86vm1:i386 mysql-common qdbus
skype-bin:i386 sni-qt:i386 zlib1g:i386
Suggested packages:
nas:i386 glibc-doc:i386 locales:i386 rng-tools rng-tools:i386 libglide3
libglide3:i386 gnutls-bin gnutls-bin:i386 krb5-doc:i386 krb5-user:i386
libvisual-0.4-plugins:i386 gstreamer-codec-install:i386
gnome-codec-install:i386 gstreamer0.10-tools:i386
gstreamer0.10-plugins-base:i386 jackd2:i386 liblcms-utils:i386
pulseaudio:i386 libqt4-declarative-folderlistmodel
libqt4-declarative-gestures libqt4-declarative-particles
libqt4-declarative-shaders qt4-qmlviewer
libqt4-declarative-folderlistmodel:i386 libqt4-declarative-gestures:i386
libqt4-declarative-particles:i386 libqt4-declarative-shaders:i386
qt4-qmlviewer:i386 libqt4-dev libqt4-dev:i386 libthai0:i386 libicu48:i386
qt4-qtconfig qt4-qtconfig:i386
Recommended packages:
libtxc-dxtn0:i386 xml-core:i386
The following NEW packages will be installed
gcc-4.7-base:i386 libasound2:i386 libasound2-plugins:i386 libasyncns0:i386
libaudio2:i386 libavahi-client3:i386 libavahi-common-data:i386
libavahi-common3:i386 libc6:i386 libcomerr2:i386 libcups2:i386
libdbus-1-3:i386 libdbusmenu-qt2:i386 libdrm-intel1:i386
libdrm-nouveau2:i386 libdrm-radeon1:i386 libdrm2:i386 libexpat1:i386
libffi6:i386 libflac8:i386 libfontconfig1:i386 libfreetype6:i386
libgcc1:i386 libgcrypt11:i386 libgl1-mesa-dri:i386 libgl1-mesa-glx:i386
libglapi-mesa:i386 libglib2.0-0:i386 libgnutls26:i386 libgpg-error0:i386
libgssapi-krb5-2:i386 libgstreamer-plugins-base0.10-0:i386
libgstreamer0.10-0:i386 libice6:i386 libjack-jackd2-0:i386 libjbig0:i386
libjpeg-turbo8:i386 libjpeg8:i386 libjson0:i386 libk5crypto3:i386
libkeyutils1:i386 libkrb5-3:i386 libkrb5support0:i386 liblcms1:i386
libllvm3.2:i386 liblzma5:i386 libmng1:i386 libmysqlclient18:i386
libogg0:i386 liborc-0.4-0:i386 libp11-kit0:i386 libpciaccess0:i386
libpcre3:i386 libpng12-0:i386 libpulse0:i386 libqt4-dbus:i386
libqt4-declarative:i386 libqt4-network:i386 libqt4-opengl:i386
libqt4-script:i386 libqt4-sql:i386 libqt4-sql-mysql:i386 libqt4-xml:i386
libqt4-xmlpatterns:i386 libqtcore4:i386 libqtgui4:i386 libqtwebkit4:i386
libsamplerate0:i386 libselinux1:i386 libsm6:i386 libsndfile1:i386
libspeexdsp1:i386 libsqlite3-0:i386 libssl1.0.0:i386 libstdc++6:i386
libtasn1-3:i386 libtiff5:i386 libtxc-dxtn-s2tc0:i386 libuuid1:i386
libvorbis0a:i386 libvorbisenc2:i386 libwrap0:i386 libx11-6:i386
libx11-xcb1:i386 libxau6:i386 libxcb-dri2-0:i386 libxcb-glx0:i386
libxcb1:i386 libxdamage1:i386 libxdmcp6:i386 libxext6:i386 libxfixes3:i386
libxi6:i386 libxml2:i386 libxrender1:i386 libxslt1.1:i386 libxss1:i386
libxt6:i386 libxv1:i386 libxxf86vm1:i386 mysql-common skype skype-bin:i386
sni-qt:i386 zlib1g:i386
The following packages will be upgraded:
libasound2 libdbus-1-3 libdrm-intel1 libdrm-nouveau2 libdrm-radeon1 libdrm2
libgcrypt11 libgl1-mesa-dri libgnutls26 libqt4-dbus libqt4-declarative
libqt4-designer libqt4-help libqt4-network libqt4-opengl libqt4-script
libqt4-scripttools libqt4-sql libqt4-sql-sqlite libqt4-svg libqt4-test
libqt4-xml libqt4-xmlpatterns libqtcore4 libqtgui4 libssl1.0.0 libtiff5
libx11-6 libx11-xcb1 libxcb-dri2-0 libxcb-glx0 libxcb1 libxext6 libxfixes3
libxi6 libxml2 libxrender1 libxt6 libxv1 libxxf86vm1 qdbus
41 upgraded, 105 newly installed, 0 to remove and 138 not upgraded.
Need to get 85.9 MB/89.2 MB of archives.
After this operation, 204 MB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue [Y/n]?
aptitude install skype:
Reading package lists...
Building dependency tree...
Reading state information...
Reading extended state information...
Initialising package states...
The following NEW packages will be installed:
gcc-4.7-base:i386{a} libasound2:i386{a} libasound2-plugins:i386{a}
libasyncns0:i386{a} libaudio2:i386{a} libavahi-client3:i386{a}
libavahi-common-data:i386{a} libavahi-common3:i386{a} libc6:i386{a}
libcomerr2:i386{a} libcups2:i386{a} libdbus-1-3:i386{a}
libdbusmenu-qt2:i386{a} libdrm-intel1:i386{a} libdrm-nouveau2:i386{a}
libdrm-radeon1:i386{a} libdrm2:i386{a} libexpat1:i386{a} libffi6:i386{a}
libflac8:i386{a} libfontconfig1:i386{a} libfreetype6:i386{a}
libgcc1:i386{a} libgcrypt11:i386{a} libgl1-mesa-dri:i386{a}
libgl1-mesa-glx:i386{a} libglapi-mesa:i386{a} libglib2.0-0:i386{a}
libgnutls26:i386{a} libgpg-error0:i386{a} libgssapi-krb5-2:i386{a}
libgstreamer-plugins-base0.10-0:i386{a} libgstreamer0.10-0:i386{a}
libice6:i386{a} libjack-jackd2-0:i386{a} libjbig0:i386{a}
libjpeg-turbo8:i386{a} libjpeg8:i386{a} libjson0:i386{a}
libk5crypto3:i386{a} libkeyutils1:i386{a} libkrb5-3:i386{a}
libkrb5support0:i386{a} liblcms1:i386{a} libllvm3.2:i386{a}
liblzma5:i386{a} libmng1:i386{a} libmysqlclient18:i386{a} libogg0:i386{a}
liborc-0.4-0:i386{a} libp11-kit0:i386{a} libpciaccess0:i386{a}
libpcre3:i386{a} libpng12-0:i386{a} libpulse0:i386{a} libqt4-dbus:i386{a}
libqt4-declarative:i386{a} libqt4-network:i386{a} libqt4-opengl:i386{a}
libqt4-script:i386{a} libqt4-sql:i386{a} libqt4-sql-mysql:i386{a}
libqt4-xml:i386{a} libqt4-xmlpatterns:i386{a} libqtcore4:i386{a}
libqtgui4:i386{a} libqtwebkit4:i386{a} libsamplerate0:i386{a}
libselinux1:i386{a} libsm6:i386{a} libsndfile1:i386{a}
libspeexdsp1:i386{a} libsqlite3-0:i386{a} libssl1.0.0:i386{a}
libstdc++6:i386{a} libtasn1-3:i386{a} libtiff5:i386{a}
libtxc-dxtn-s2tc0:i386{a} libuuid1:i386{a} libvorbis0a:i386{a}
libvorbisenc2:i386{a} libwrap0:i386{a} libx11-6:i386{a}
libx11-xcb1:i386{a} libxau6:i386{a} libxcb-dri2-0:i386{a}
libxcb-glx0:i386{a} libxcb1:i386{a} libxdamage1:i386{a} libxdmcp6:i386{a}
libxext6:i386{a} libxfixes3:i386{a} libxi6:i386{a} libxml2:i386{a}
libxrender1:i386{a} libxslt1.1:i386{a} libxss1:i386{a} libxt6:i386{a}
libxv1:i386{a} libxxf86vm1:i386{a} mysql-common{a} skype
skype-bin:i386{a} sni-qt:i386{a} zlib1g:i386{a}
The following packages will be upgraded:
libasound2 libdbus-1-3 libdrm-intel1 libdrm-nouveau2 libdrm-radeon1
libdrm2 libgcrypt11 libgl1-mesa-dri libgnutls26 libqt4-dbus
libqt4-declarative libqt4-network libqt4-opengl libqt4-script libqt4-sql
libqt4-xml libqt4-xmlpatterns libqtcore4 libqtgui4 libssl1.0.0 libtiff5
libx11-6 libx11-xcb1 libxcb-dri2-0 libxcb-glx0 libxcb1 libxext6
libxfixes3 libxi6 libxml2 libxrender1 libxt6 libxv1 libxxf86vm1 qdbus
35 packages upgraded, 105 newly installed, 0 to remove and 144 not upgraded.
Need to get 81.7 MB/85.0 MB of archives. After unpacking 204 MB will be used.
The following packages have unmet dependencies:
libqt4-test : Depends: libqtcore4 (= 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9) but 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9.2 is to be installed.
libqt4-designer : Depends: libqt4-script (= 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9) but 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9.2 is to be installed.
Depends: libqt4-xml (= 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9) but 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9.2 is to be installed.
Depends: libqtcore4 (= 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9) but 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9.2 is to be installed.
Depends: libqtgui4 (= 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9) but 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9.2 is to be installed.
libqt4-sql-sqlite : Depends: libqt4-sql (= 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9) but 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9.2 is to be installed.
Depends: libqtcore4 (= 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9) but 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9.2 is to be installed.
libqt4-help : Depends: libqt4-network (= 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9) but 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9.2 is to be installed.
Depends: libqt4-sql (= 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9) but 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9.2 is to be installed.
Depends: libqtcore4 (= 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9) but 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9.2 is to be installed.
Depends: libqtgui4 (= 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9) but 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9.2 is to be installed.
libqt4-svg : Depends: libqtcore4 (= 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9) but 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9.2 is to be installed.
Depends: libqtgui4 (= 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9) but 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9.2 is to be installed.
libqt4-scripttools : Depends: libqt4-script (= 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9) but 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9.2 is to be installed.
Depends: libqtcore4 (= 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9) but 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9.2 is to be installed.
Depends: libqtgui4 (= 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9) but 4:4.8.4+dfsg-0ubuntu9.2 is to be installed.
The following actions will resolve these dependencies:
Remove the following packages:
1) account-plugin-aim
2) account-plugin-facebook
3) account-plugin-flickr
4) account-plugin-generic-oauth
5) account-plugin-google
6) account-plugin-jabber
7) account-plugin-salut
8) account-plugin-twitter
9) account-plugin-windows-live
10) account-plugin-yahoo
11) empathy
12) friends
13) friends-dispatcher
14) friends-facebook
15) friends-twitter
16) gir1.2-signon-1.0
17) gnome-control-center-signon
18) libaccount-plugin-1.0-0
19) libfriends0
20) libqt4-designer
21) libqt4-help
22) libqt4-scripttools
23) libqt4-sql-sqlite
24) libqt4-svg
25) libqt4-test
26) libsignon-glib1
27) mcp-account-manager-uoa
28) nautilus-sendto-empathy
29) python-qt4
30) shotwell
31) signon-plugin-oauth2
32) signon-plugin-password
33) signon-ui
34) signond
35) ubuntu-sso-client-qt
36) ubuntuone-control-panel-qt
37) unity-lens-friends
38) unity-lens-photos
39) unity-scope-gdrive
40) webaccounts-extension-common
41) xul-ext-webaccounts
Leave the following dependencies unresolved:
42) mcp-account-manager-uoa recommends gnome-control-center-signon
43) mcp-account-manager-uoa recommends account-plugin-aim
44) mcp-account-manager-uoa recommends account-plugin-jabber
45) mcp-account-manager-uoa recommends account-plugin-google
46) mcp-account-manager-uoa recommends account-plugin-facebook
47) mcp-account-manager-uoa recommends account-plugin-windows-live
48) mcp-account-manager-uoa recommends account-plugin-yahoo
49) mcp-account-manager-uoa recommends account-plugin-salut
50) ubuntu-desktop recommends empathy
51) ubuntu-desktop recommends libqt4-sql-sqlite
52) ubuntu-desktop recommends shotwell
53) ubuntu-desktop recommends ubuntuone-control-panel-qt
54) ubuntu-desktop recommends xul-ext-webaccounts
55) unity recommends unity-lens-photos
56) unity recommends unity-lens-friends
57) unity-lens-files recommends unity-scope-gdrive
58) libqt4-sql recommends libqt4-sql-mysql | libqt4-sql-odbc | libqt4-sql-ps
Accept this solution? [Y/n/q/?]
And in case this helps, aptitude show skype:
Package: skype
State: not installed
Version: 4.2.0.11-0ubuntu0.12.04.2
Priority: extra
Section: net
Maintainer: Steve Langasek <
[email protected]>
Architecture: amd64
Uncompressed Size: 62.5 k
Depends: skype-bin
Conflicts: skype
Description: client for Skype VOIP and instant messaging service
Skype is software that enables the world's conversations. Millions of
individuals and businesses use Skype to make free video and voice calls, send
instant messages and share files with other Skype users. Every day, people
also use Skype to make low-cost calls to landlines and mobiles.
* Make free Skype-to-Skype calls to anyone else, anywhere in the world. * Call
to landlines and mobiles at great rates. * Group chat with up to 200 people or
conference call with up to 25 others. * Free to download.
