pkgtrans(ADM)                   19 June 1992                   pkgtrans(ADM)


 Name

    pkgtrans  - translate package format

 Syntax

    pkgtrans [ -ions ] device1 device2 [ pkginst1 [ pkginst2 [ ... ] ] ]

 Description

    pkgtrans translates an installable package from one format to another.
    It translates:

    +  a filesystem format to a datastream

    +  a datastream to a filesystem format

    +  a filesystem format to another filesystem format

    The options and arguments for this command are:

    -i        Copies only the pkginfo and pkgmap files.

    -o        Overwrites the same instance on the destination device:
              package instance will be overwritten if it already exists.

    -n        Creates a new instance if any instance of this package already
              exists.

    -s        Indicates that the package should be written to device2 as a
              datastream rather than as a filesystem.  The default behavior
              is to write a filesystem format on devices that support both
              formats.

    device1   Indicates the source device.  The package or packages on this
              device will be translated and placed on device2.

    device2   Indicates the destination device.  Translated packages will be
              placed on this device.

    pkginst   Specifies which package instance or instances on device1 should
              be translated.  The token all may be used to indicate all pack-
              ages.  pkginst.* can be used to indicate all instances of a
              package.  (When using this format, enclose the command line in
              single quotes to prevent the shell from interpreting the *
              character.)  If no packages are defined, a prompt shows all
              packages on the device and asks which to translate.

 Notes

    Device specifications can be either the special node name
    (/dev/fd096ds15) or the device alias (fd096ds15).  The device spool indi-
    cates the default spool directory.  Source and destination devices may
    not be the same.

    By default, pkgtrans will not transfer any instance of a package if any
    instance of that package already exists on the destination device.  Use
    of the -n option will create a new instance if an instance of this pack-
    age already exists.  Use of the -o option will overwrite the same
    instance if it already exists.  Neither of these options are useful if
    the destination device is a datastream.

    If you're transferring a package in datastream format to floppies and the
    package spans multiple floppies, use the filesystem format.  (The datas-
    tream format is not supported across multiple floppies.)

    pkgtrans depends on the integrity of the /etc/default/device.tab file to
    determine whether a device can support a datastream and/or filesystem
    formats. Problems in transferring a device in a particular format could
    mean corruption of /etc/default/device.tab.

 Example

    The following example translates all packages on the floppy drive
    /dev/diskette and places the translations on /tmp.

       pkgtrans /dev/diskette /tmp all

    The next example translates packages pkg1 and pkg2 on /tmp and places
    their translations (that is, a datastream) on the cartridge tape output
    device.

       pkgtrans /tmp ctape1 pkg1 pkg2

    The next example translates pkg1 and pkg2 on tmp and places them on the
    diskette in a datastream format.

       pkgtrans -s /tmp /dev/fd096ds15 pkg1 pkg2

 File

    /etc/default/device.tab

 See also

    installf(ADM), pkgadd(ADM), pkgask(ADM), pkginfo(ADM), pkgmk(ADM),
    pkgparam(ADM), pkgproto(ADM), pkgrm(ADM), removef(ADM)