Degasolv Command Reference

This guide describes the Degasolv CLI, what subcommands and options there are, and what they are for. It also describes how to specify options.

Some Notes on Versions

  • On a best-effort basis, features have had the version that they first appeared associated with them in this guide.
  • Anything tagged with version 1.0.2 really means “1.0.2 or earlier”. The history gets shaky before that :)
  • The first version of Degasolv (for the purposes of this guide) released was 1.0.2 .
  • As of version 1.3.0, All options which take a file name may now have - given as the filename, to specify that standard in should be used.
  • The earliest usable released version of Degasolv that can be recommended for use is 1.5.1 . Anything before that wasn’t profiled, and had some pretty bad bugs in it.

Top-Level CLI

Top-Level Usage Page

Running degasolv -h will yield a page that looks something like this:

Usage: degasolv <options> <command> <<command>-options>

Options are shown below, with their default values and
  descriptions. Options marked with `**` may be
  used more than once.

-c, --config-file FILE  ./degasolv.edn  Config file location **
-j, --json-config FILE                  JSON config file location **
-k, --option-pack PACK                  Specify option pack **
-h, --help                              Print this help page

Commands are:

  - display-config
  - generate-card
  - generate-repo-index
  - resolve-locations
  - query-repo

Simply run `degasolv <command> -h` for help information.

Note

In this guide, for brevity, the reference is presented as if the command to execute Degasolv were simply degasolv rather than the more correct java -jar degasolv-<version>-standalone.jar. A bash or batch script can easily be made to turn one command into the other, and the change was made to the former form for clarity.

A Note on Specifying Files

As of version 1.3.0, The whenever an option takes a file in Degasolv, the user can actually specify one of three things:

  1. An http:// or https:// URL. Prior to version 2.2.0, no authentication was supported. As of version 2.2.0, authentication can be specified in one of three ways:

    1. HTTP Basic Authentication: You can specify a URL-encoded username and password to use HTTP basic authentication by separating the username and password via a : (colon) character and put the entire thing before the @ character in the URL. For example:

      https://username:password@example.com/...

    2. OAuth2 Token Authentication: You can specify a URL-encoded OAuth2 token by simply specifying one string before the @ in any given URL, without any separators, like this:

      https://thisisthetoken@example.com/...

    3. Header-Based Authentication: You can specify a custom HTTP header, together with its URL encoded value, by separating the header name from the value of the header with an = (equals) sign before the @ in any given URL, like this:

      https://X-Auth-Token=feefiefofum@example.com/...

      This would yield a HTTP GET request with the following header:

      X-Auth-Token: feefiefofum

    As of version 2.2.0, query strings as part of the HTTP URL are also supported.

  2. A file:// URL.

  3. A filesystem reference.

  4. The character -, signifying standard input to the Degasolv process.

This is true for options of Degasolv and options for any of its subcommands.

Explanation of Options

There are lots of options to degasolv and a few ways in which to specify them. This section details the ways by which they should be specified.

Global Options

Degasolv parses global options before it parses subcommands or the options for subcommands; therefore, global options need to be specified first. If any option, whether global or for a subcommand is given incorrectly, the program exits with a return code of 1.

Environment Variables

Every option in Degasolv has a corresponding environment variable which, if set, will be consulted for the value of that option. Each option in this document will have its corresponding environment variable listed next to it.

  • Options which take a boolean value must be specified as true` or ``false`, as in ``export DEGASOLV_ALTERNATIVES=true.
  • Options which take a list will be specified as a single string of values separated by the caret (^) character, as in export DEGASOLV_REQUIREMENTS=a^b^c.
  • The :meta option is the only option that takes a map or dictionary of values. In this option, keys and values are separated by the equals sign (=) and the list of key/value pairs are also separated by the caret character, as in k=v^k=v^k=v...

Note

The environment variables and their formatting will be listed for the options of all the subcommands in this document; however, environment variables can only be used with Degasolv version 2.2.0 or greater. This point bears special emphasis. Lots of config options say they were released in earlier versions. This is true; however, the only format of config file available for use was the EDN config file type before version 1.12.0 of Degasolv.

Using Configuration Files

Configuration files may be specified at the command line before specifying any subcommands, or in the DEGASOLV_CONFIG_FILES and/or the DEGASOLV_JSON_CONFIG_FILES environemnt. The config file structure is designed so that any command-line option may be set in the config file instead, and vice versa. More information can be found at edn-config and json-config below.

In addition, config files may be specified either in the EDN format or JSON format. Multiple config files may be specified. “Mixing and matching” of JSON and EDN config files is supported. For more information, see the Multiple Configuration Files section.

How Options are Gathered

First, the DEGASOLV_CONFIG_FILES and DEGASOLV_JSON_CONFIG_FILES environment variables are consulted to find any configuration files.

Next, the options in the configuration files are consulted and are merged onto each other in the order given in those variables, first EDN files and then JSON files. The last config file encountered “wins” for any given key for which multiple files specify a value.

These options are then added to and overridden by any values in environment variables, and finally added to and overridden by any values found by consulting the command line options.

Basic EDN Configuration Usage

Short option -c FILE
Long option --config-file FILE
Environment variable DEGASOLV_CONFIG_FILES=f1^f2^f3
Version introduced 1.0.2

A config file may be specified at the command line. The config file is in the EDN format. As a rule, any option for any sub-command may be given a value from this config file, using the keyword form of the argument. For example, instead of running this command:

degasolv \
   generate-repo-index --search-directory /some/directory \
   [...]

A configuration file that looks like this could be used instead:

;; filename: config.edn
{
    :search-directory "/some/directory"
}

With this command:

degasolv \
  --config-file "$PWD/config.edn" \
  generate-repo-index [...]

Notable exceptions to this rule include options which may be specified multiple times. These options are named using singular nouns (e.g. --repository REPO), but their corresponding configuration file keys are specified using plural nouns (e.g., :repositories ["REPO1", ... ]).

So, instead of using this command:

degasolv \
  resolve-locations \
  --disable-alternatives \
  --present-package "x==0.1" \
  --present-package "y==0.2" \
  --repository "https://example.com/repo1/" \
  --repository "https://example.com/repo2/" \
  --requirement "a" \
  --requirement "b"
  [...]

This configuration file might be used:

; filename: config.edn
{
    :alternatives false
    :respositories ["https://example.com/repo1/"
                    "https://example.com/repo2/"]
    :requirements ["a"
                   "b"]
    :present-packages ["x==0.1"
                       "y==0.2"]
}

With this command:

degasolv \
  --config-file "$PWD/config.edn" \
  resolve-locations \
  [...]

Basic JSON Configuration Usage

Short option -j FILE
Long option --json-config FILE
Environment variable DEGASOLV_JSON_CONFIG_FILES=f1^f2
Version introduced 1.12.0

Any config file option that can be specified using EDN may also be specified using the JSON format. The only difference is that a plain string should be used as the key for the config option instead of an EDN keyword.

For example, instead of using this config file:

; filename: config.edn
{
  :alternatives false
  :respositories ["https://example.com/repo1/"
                  "https://example.com/repo2/"]
  :id "x"
  :version "1.0.0"
  :requirements ["a"
                 "b"]
  :present-packages ["x==0.1"
                     "y==0.2"]
}

With this command:

degasolv \
  --config-file "$PWD/config.edn" \
  resolve-locations \
  [...]

This JSON config file may be used instead:

{
  "alternatives": false,
  "repositories": ["https://example.com/repo1/"
                   "https://example.com/repo2/"],
  "id": "x",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "requirements": ["a"
                   "b"],
  "present-packages": ["x==0.1"
                       "y==0.2"]
}

The command to use the above JSON config file would look like this:

degasolv \
  --json-config "$PWD/config.json" \
  resolve-locations \
  [...]

Using Multiple Configuration Files

As of version 1.2.0, the --config-file option may be specified multiple times. As of version 1.12.0, the --json-config option may also be specified, and it too may be multiple times. As of version 2.2.0, configuration files can be specified using the DEGASOLV_CONFIG_FILES and DEGASOLV_JSON_CONFIG_FILES environment variables.

Degasolv processes JSON config files together with EDN config files. Each configuration file specified will get its configuration merged into the previously specified configuration files, whether those files be EDN or JSON. The exception is for environment variables; the EDN files specified in the environment will be consulted first, followed by the JSON config files specified in the environment, followed by any configuration files on the command line whether JSON or EDN. If both configuration files contain the same option, the option specified in the latter specified configuration file will be used.

As an example, consider the following display-config command:

DEGASOLV_JSON_CONFIG_FILES="$PWD/y.json" \
DEGASOLV_CONFIG_FILES="$PWD/x.edn" \
degasolv \
  --config-file "$PWD/a.edn" \
  --json-config "$PWD/j.json" \
  --config-file "$PWD/b.edn" \
  display-config

If this is the contents of the file x.edn:

{
    :conflict-strat "inclusive"
    :error-format false
}

And this were the contents of the file y.json:

{
    "conflict-strat": "prioritized",
    "error-format": true
}

And this is the contents of the file a.edn:

{
    :index-strat "prioritized"
    :repositories ["https://example.com/repo1/"]
    :id "a"
    :version "1.0.0"
}

And this were the contents of j.json:

{
    "id": "j",
    "alternatives": false,
    "requirements": ["x", "y"]
}

And this were the contents of b.edn:

{
    :repositories ["https://example.com/repo2/"]
    :id "b"
    :version "2.0.0"
    :requirements []
}

Then the output of the above command would look like this:

{
    :alternatives false
    :error-format true
    :index-strat "priority"
    :repositories ["https://example.com/repo2/"]
    :id "b"
    :version "2.0.0"
    :conflict-strat "prioritized"
    :requirements []
    :arguments ["display-config"]
}

Note

The JSON config file keys and their formatting will be listed for the options of all the subcommands in this document; however, JSON config files can only be used with Degasolv version 1.12.0 or greater. This point bears special emphasis. Lots of config options say they were released in earlier versions. This is true; however, the only format of config file available for use was the EDN config file type before version 1.12.0 of Degasolv.

Default Configuration Files

All previous versions prior to 2.2.0 of degasolv will look for a file called ./degasolv.edn if no other config file was specified.

As of version 2.2.0, If no configuration files are specified, they will be looked for in the following locations, if they exist, as if they were specified in the following order on the command line:

  1. ${AppData}/degasolv/config.edn
  2. ${AppData}/degasolv/config.json
  3. ${HOME}/.degasolv.edn
  4. ${HOME}/.degasolv.json
  5. ./degasolv.edn
  6. ./degasolv.json

Using Site-Wide Configuration Files

The merging of config files, together with the interesting fact that config files may be specified via HTTP/HTTPS URLs, allows the user to specify a site config file.

Multiple sub-commands have options which fundamentally change how Degasolv works. These are --conflict-strat, --index-strat, --resolve-strat and --search-strat. It is therefore recommended that these specific options are specified site-wide, if they are specified at all. Specifying these in a site config file, then serving that config file internally via HTTP(S) would allow all instances of Degasolv to point to a site-wide file, together with a build-specific config file, as in this example:

degasolv \
    --config-file "https://nas.example.com/degasolv/site.edn" \
    --config-file "./degasolv.edn" \
    generate-card

Also remember that config files can be specified as environment variables. For example, the above example would look like this, if environment variables were used:

export DEGASOLV_CONFIG_FILES="https://nas.example.com/degasolv/site.edn^./degasolv.edn"
degasolv \
    generate-card

Here is a version of that example that uses JSON instead:

export DEGASOLV_JSON_CONFIG_FILES="https://nas.example.com/degasolv/site.json^./degasolv.json"
degasolv \
    generate-card

Security Considerations

Some configuration items in Degasolv, such as URLs that point to config files and repository indexes, may have passwords or API tokens in-line in the URL. As an admin, you’re going to have to figure out how you want to get sensitive information of this kind into the configuration for Degasolv to consume.

There are three main ways to do this for the purposes of security:

  1. Environment Variable: Any option in Degasolv can be specified using

    environment variables. See the environment-variables section.

  2. Standard Input: Degasolv configuration can be specified using

    standard input. This is probably the most secure and least convenient way of providing sensitive information to Degasolv. Here is an example:

    degasolv -j - << DEGASOLV_CONFIG
<CONFIG ITEMS HERE>
DEGASOLV_CONFIG
  3. Configuration File: This method is somewhat secure as long

    as the filesystem is deemed trustworthy and as long as the proper file permissions are in place so that the credentials can only be viewed by approved users.

  4. CLI: This is not normally secure, but Degasolv leaves the decision

    of what is sufficiently secure to the user, and allows sensitive information to be specified on the command line in the normal way in an effort to make extra, extra sure the tool is usable even in a firestorm (read: even in the presence of bizarre use cases).

Option Packs

Short option -k PACK
Long option --option-pack PACK
EDN config file key :option-packs ["PACK1",...]
JSON config file key "option-packs": ["PACK1",...],
Environment variable DEGASOLV_OPTION_PACKS="P1^P2^..."
Version introduced 1.7.0

Specify one or more option packs. The commandline version of this option may be specified multiple times.

Degasolv ships with several “option packs”, each of which imply several Degasolv options at once. When an option pack is specified, Degasolv looks up which option pack is used and what options are implied by using it. More than one option pack may be specified.

Prior to version 2.2.0, If option packs were specified both on the command line and in the config file, the option packs on the command line are used and the ones in the config file were ignored.

As of version 2.2.0, Option packs are “expanded” into the options they imply on the level in which they are specified, where in a particular configuration file, in the environment, or on the commandline. Then options are merged according to the usual rules – first configuration files are merged (see Multiple Configuration Files on how they are merged), then environment variables, and finally commandline options.

The following option packs are supported in the current version:

  • v1: Added as of version 2.0.0 . Implies --list-strat as-set and --disable-error-format. This pack was added to help support legacy deployments of Degasolv. It should be noted that to achieve full compatibility with Degasolv version 1, the argument --version-comparison maven should be used as well as this option pack. It could not be included in the option pack due to complications with the version comparison option and its relationship to how the --package-system option is affected by it.
  • multi-version-mode: Added as of version 1.7.0 . Implies --conflict-strat inclusive, --resolve-strat fast, and --disable-alternatives.
  • firstfound-version-mode: Added as of version 1.7.0 . Implies --conflict-strat prioritized, --resolve-strat fast, and --disable-alternatives.

Print the Help Page

Short option -h
Long option --help
Version introduced 1.0.2

-h, --help: Prints the help page. This can be used on every sub-command as well.

CLI for display-config

Usage Page for display-config

Running degasolv display-config -h returns a page that looks something like this:

Usage: degasolv <options> display-config <display-config-options>

Options are shown below. Default values are marked as <DEFAULT> and
  descriptions. Options marked with `**` may be
  used more than once.

      --search-directory DIR    .              Find degasolv cards here
      --index-file FILE         index.dsrepo   The name of the repo file
      --index-strat STRAT       priority       May be 'priority' or 'global'.
      --requirement REQ                        Resolve req. **
      --search-strat STRAT      breadth-first  May be 'breadth-first' or 'depth-first'.
      --conflict-strat STRAT    exclusive      May be 'exclusive', 'inclusive' or 'prioritized'.
      --repository INDEX                       Search INDEX for packages. **
      --enable-alternatives                    Consider all alternatives (default)
      --id ID                                  ID (name) of the package
      --query QUERY                            Display packages matching query string.
      --disable-alternatives                   Consider only first alternatives
      --add-to INDEX                           Add to repo index INDEX
      --card-file FILE          ./out.dscard   The name of the card file
      --present-package PKG                    Hard present package. **
      --resolve-strat STRAT     thorough       May be 'fast' or 'thorough'.
      --location LOCATION                      URL or filepath of the package
      --package-system SYS      degasolv       May be 'degasolv' or 'apt'.
      --version-comparison CMP  semver         May be 'debian', 'maven', 'naive', 'python', 'rpm', 'rubygem', or 'semver'.
      --version VERSION                        Version of the package
  -h, --help                                   Print this help page

Overview of display-config

This subcommand introduced as of version 1.6.0.

The display-config command is used to print all the options in the effective configuration. It allows the user to debug configuration by printing the actual configuration used by Degasolv after all the command-line arguments and config files have been merged together. An example of this is found in the config files section.

As of version 1.6.0, display-config accepts any valid option in long form (--long-form) which is accepted by any other subcommand. This enables the user to print out the effective configuration resulting from multiple config files as well as any options that might be given on the CLI.

As of version 2.0.0, display-config honors the setting of --output-format, if given in the configuration or on the command line: It will output JSON if set to json, EDN if set to edn or what it printed before version 2.0.0 (pretty EDN) if set to plain.

CLI for generate-card

Usage Page for generate-card

Running degasolv generate-card -h returns a page that looks something like this:

Usage: degasolv <options> generate-card <generate-card-options>

Options are shown below. Default values are marked as <DEFAULT> and
  descriptions. Options marked with `**` may be
  used more than once.

  -C, --card-file FILE   ./out.dscard  The name of the card file
  -i, --id ID                          ID (name) of the package
  -l, --location LOCATION              URL or filepath of the package
  -m, --meta K=V                       Add additional metadata
  -r, --requirement REQ                List requirement **
  -v, --version VERSION                Version of the package
  -h, --help                           Print this help page

The following options are required for subcommand `generate-card`:

  - `-i`, `--id`, or the config file key `:id`.
  - `-v`, `--version`, or the config file key `:version`.
  - `-l`, `--location`, or the config file key `:location`.

Overview of generate-card

This subcommand introduced as of version 1.0.2.

This subcommand is used to generate a card file. This card file is used to represent a package within a Degasolv repository. It is placed in a directory with other card files, and then the generate-repo-index command is used to search that directory for card files to produce a repository index.

Explanation of Options for generate-card

Specify Location of the Card File

Short option -C FILE
Long option --card-file FILE
EDN config file key :card-file "FILE"
JSON config file key "card-file": "FILE"
Environment variable DEGASOLV_CARD_FILE="FILE"
Version introduced 1.0.2

Specify the name of the card file to generate. It is best practice to name this file after the name of the file referred to by the package’s location with a .dscard extension. For example, if I created a card using the option --location http://example.com/repo/a-1.0.zip, I would name the card file a-1.0.zip.dscard, as in --card-file a-1.0.zip.dscard. By default, the card file is named out.dscard.

Specify the ID (Name) of the Package

Short option -i ID
Long option --id ID
EDN config file key :id "ID"
JSON config file key "id": "ID",
Environment variable DEGASOLV_ID="ID"
Version introduced 1.0.2

Required. Specify the ID of the package described in the card file. The ID serves both as a unique identifier for the package and its name. It may be composed of any characters other than the following characters: <>=!,;|.

Specify the Location of the Package

Short option -l LOCATION
Long option --location LOCATION
EDN config file key :location "LOCATION"
JSON config file key "location": "LOCATION",
Environment variable DEGASOLV_LOCATION="LOCATION"
Version introduced 1.0.2

Required. Specify the location of the file associated with the package to be described in the generated card file. Degasolv does not place any restrictions on this string; it can be anything, including a file location or a URL.

Specify Additional Metadata for a Package

Short option -m K=V
Long option --meta K=V
EDN config file key :meta {:key1 "value1" ...}
JSON config file key "meta": {"key1": "value1", ...},
Environment variable DEGASOLV_META="k1=v1^k2=v2..."
Version introduced 1.11.0

Specify additional metadata about the package within the card file. This metadata will stay with the package information in its card file. It will also be printed with other package information about the package when the package is printed after dependency resolution when resolve-locations subcommand is called, provided that the output-format option is also used in a mode other than plain.

This is a powerful feature allowing the operator to build tooling on top of Degasolv. For example, now the operator may store the sha256 sum of the artifact, the location of its PGP signature, a list of scripts useful in the build contained within the artifact, etc.

For key/value pairs specified on the command line, keys are turned into EDN keywords (e.g., :K) internally and values are simply taken as strings. Additional metadata can also be specified from a configuration file as well. When they are specified via config file, they may be any data type allowed by EDN.

Key/value pairs specified via configuration file must be children of the top-level :meta key, like this:

{
    ...
    :meta {
        :sha256sum "sumsumsum"
        :otherkey "suchvalue"
        :key3 ["values", "can", "be", "lists"]
        :key4 {:key1 "or",
               :key2 "maps"}
    }
}

If used from the config file, the map’s keys and values will be placed directly in to the card file. If keys :id, :version :location, or :requirements are specified in the config file, or keys id=, version=, location=, or requirements= on the CLI, they will be ignored.

Specify a Requirement for a Package

Short option -r REQ
Long option --requirement REQ
EDN config file key :requirements ["REQ1", ...]
JSON config file key "requirements": ["REQ1", ...],
Environment variable DEGASOLV_REQUIREMENTS="r1^r2..."
Version introduced 1.0.2

List a requirement (dependency) of the package in the card file. May be specified one or more times as a command line option, or once as a list of strings in a configuration file. See Specifying a requirement for more information.

Specify a Version for a Package

Short option -v VERSION
Long option --version VERSION
EDN config file key :version "VERSION"
JSON config file key "version": "VERSION",
Environment variable DEGASOLV_VERSION="VERSION"
Version introduced 1.0.2

Required. Specify the name of the package described in the card file.

Print the generate-card Help Page

Short option -h
Long option --help
Version introduced 1.0.2

Print a help page for the subcommand generate-card.

CLI for generate-repo-index

Usage Page for generate-repo-index

Running degasolv generate-repo-index -h returns a page that looks something like this:

Usage: degasolv <options> generate-repo-index <generate-repo-index-options>

Options are shown below. Default values are marked as <DEFAULT> and
  descriptions. Options marked with `**` may be
  used more than once.

  -a, --add-to INDEX                          Add to repo index INDEX
  -d, --search-directory DIR    .             Find degasolv cards here
  -I, --index-file FILE         index.dsrepo  The name of the repo file
  -O, --index-sort-order ORDER  descending    May be 'ascending' or 'descending'.
  -V, --version-comparison CMP  maven         May be 'debian', 'maven', 'naive', 'python', 'rpm', 'rubygem', or 'semver'.
  -h, --help                                  Print this help page

Overview of generate-repo-index

This subcommand introduced as of version 1.0.2.

This subcommand is used to generate a repository index file. A repository index file lists all versions of all packages in a particular Degasolv repository, together with their locations. This file’s location, whether by file path or URL, would then be given to resolve-locations and query-repo commands as Degasolv repositories.

Explanation of Options for generate-repo-index

Specify the Repo Search Directory

Short option -d DIR
Long option --search-directory DIR
EDN config file key :search-directory "DIR"
JSON config file key "search-directory": "DIR",
Environment variable DEGASOLV_SEARCH_DIRECTORY="DIR"
Version introduced 1.0.2

Look for Degasolv card files in this directory. The directory will be recursively searched for files with the .dscard extension and their information will be added to the index. Default value is the present working directory (.).

Specify the Repo Index File

Short option -I FILE
Long option --index-file FILE
EDN config file key :index-file "FILE"
JSON config file key "index-file": "FILE",
Environment variable DEGASOLV_INDEX_FILE="FILE"
Version introduced 1.0.2

Write the index file at the location FILE. Default value is index.dsrepo. It is good practice to use the default value.

Specify the Index Sort Order

Short option -O ORDER
Long option --index-sort-order ORDER
EDN config file key :index-sort-order "ORDER"
JSON config file key "index-sort-order": "ORDER",
Environment variable DEGASOLV_INDEX_SORT_ORDER="ORDER"
Version introduced 2.1.0

Specify that the packages within the index should be sorted by version number in either descending or ascending order. This has a significant impact on which version Degasolv chooses during dependency resolution.

Degasolv “trusts” the index. The index lists versions packages under a particular package name in a particular order, and Degasolv tries packages according to the order found in the index. This means that if the list of available package versions for any particular package name are sorted in descending order by version, then Degasolv will try the latest versions first. This is almost always what admins want in most dependency settings, and so has been the default for Degasolv before version 2.1.0 .

However, with the advent of golang’s use of Minimum Version Selection, a use case has arisen for picking the smallest version first as part of resolution.

As of version 2.1.0, specific performance enhancements (internally labelled “version suggestion”), together with the option to specify an ascending version index sort order, allows the admin to ask Degasolv to practice minimum version selection.

Specify the Version Comparison Algorithm

Short option -V CMP
Long option --version-comparison CMP
EDN config file key :version-comparison "CMP"
JSON config file key "version-comparison": "CMP",
Environment variable DEGASOLV_VERSION_COMPARISON="CMP"
Version introduced 1.8.0

Use the specified version comparison algorithm when generating the repository index. When repository indexes are generated, lists of packages representing different versions of each named package are created within the index. These lists are sorted in descending order by version number, so that the latest version of a given package is tried first when resolving dependencies.

This option allows the operator to change what version comparison algorithm is used. May be debian, maven, naive, python, npm, rubygem, or semver. As of version 2.0, the default algorithm is semver.

Caution

This is one of those options that should not be used unless the operator has a good reason, but it is available and usable if needed.

Note

This option should be used with care, since whatever setting is used will greatly alter behavior. Similar options are availabe for the resolve-locations subcommand and the query-repo subcommand. They should all agree when used within the same site. It is therefore recommended that whichever setting is chosen should be used site-wide within an organization.

Add to an Existing Repository Index

Short option -a INDEX
Long option --add-to INDEX
EDN config file key :add-to "INDEX"
JSON config file key "add-to": "INDEX",
Environment variable DEGASOLV_ADD_TO="INDEX"
Version introduced 1.0.2

Add to the repository index file found at INDEX. In general, it is best to simply regenerate a new repository index fresh based on the card files found in a search directory; however, it may be useful to use this option to generate a repository file incrementally.

For example, a card file might be generated during a build, then added to a repository index file in the same build script:

#!/bin/sh

degasolv generate-card \
  -i "a" -v "1.0.0" -l "http://example.com/repo/a-1.0.0.zip" \
  -C "a-1.0.0.zip.dscard"

degasolv generate-repo-index \
  -I "new-index.dsrepo" -a "http://example.com/repo/index.dsrepo" \
  -d "."

rsync -av a-1.0.0.zip.dscard user@example.com:/var/www/repo/
rsync -av new-index.dsrepo user@example.com:/var/www/repo/index.dsrepo

In this example, a card file is generated. Then, a new repository is generated based on an existing index and a newly generated card file. Then it is copied up to the repo server, replacing the old index. The card file is copied up as well to preserve the record in the search directory on the actual repository server so that a repository index could be generated on the server in the usual way later.

INDEX may be a URL or a filepath. Both HTTP and HTTPS URLs are supported. As of version 1.3.0, an INDEX may be specified as -, the hyphen character. If INDEX is -, Degasolv will read standard input instead of any specific file or URL.

CLI for resolve-locations

Usage Page for resolve-locations

Running degasolv resolve-locations -h returns a page that looks something like this:

Usage: resolve-locations <options>

Options are shown below. Default values are listed with the
  descriptions. Options marked with `**` may be
  used more than once.

  -a, --enable-alternatives                          Consider all alternatives (default)
  -A, --disable-alternatives                         Consider only first alternatives
  -e, --search-strat STRAT            breadth-first  May be 'breadth-first' or 'depth-first'.
  -g, --enable-error-format                          Enable output format for errors (default)
  -G, --disable-error-format                         Disable output format for errors
  -f, --conflict-strat STRAT          exclusive      May be 'exclusive', 'inclusive' or 'prioritized'.
  -L, --list-strat STRAT              lazy           May be 'as-set', 'lazy' or 'eager'.
  -o, --output-format FORMAT          plain          May be 'plain', 'edn' or 'json'
  -p, --present-package PKG                          Hard present package. **
  -r, --requirement REQ                              Resolve req. **
  -R, --repository INDEX                             Search INDEX for packages. **
  -s, --resolve-strat STRAT           thorough       May be 'fast' or 'thorough'.
  -S, --index-strat STRAT             priority       May be 'priority' or 'global'.
  -t, --package-system SYS            degasolv       May be 'degasolv', 'apt', or 'subproc'.
  -u, --subproc-output-format FORMAT  json           Whether to read `edn` or `json` from the exe's output
  -V, --version-comparison CMP        maven          May be 'debian', 'maven', 'naive', 'python', 'rpm', 'rubygem', or 'semver'.
  -x, --subproc-exe PATH                             Path to the executable to call to get package data
  -h, --help                                         Print this help page

The following options are required:

  - `-R`, `--repository`, or the config file key `:repositories`.
  - `-r`, `--requirement`, or the config file key `:requirements`.

Overview of resolve-locations

This subcommand introduced as of version 1.0.2.

The resolve-locations command searches one or more repository index files, and uses the package information in them to attempt to resolve the requirements given at the command line. If successful, it exits with a return code of 0 and outputs the name of each package in the solution it has found, together with that package’s location.

If the command fails because of dependency resolution problems, an exit code of 3 is returned. The output from such a run might look like this:

The resolver encountered the following problems:

Clause: e>=1.1.0,<2.0.0
- Packages selected:
  - b==2.3.0 @ https://example.com/repo/b-2.3.0.zip
  - d==0.8.0 @ https://example.com/repo/d-0.8.0.zip
- Packages already present:
  - x==0.1.0 @ already present
  - y==0.2.0 @ already present
- Alternative being considered: e>=1.1.0,<2.0.0
- Package in question was found in the repository, but cannot be used.
- Package ID in question: e

As shown above, a list of clauses is printed. Each clause is an alternative (part of a requirement) that the resolver could not fulfill or resolve. Each field is explained as follows:

  1. Packages selected: This is a list of packages found in order to resolve previous requirements before the “problem” clause was encountered.
  2. Packages already present: Packages which were given to Degasolv using the present package option. If none were specified, this will show as None.
  3. Alternative being considered: This field displays what alternative from the requirement was being currently considered when the problem was encountered.
  4. The next field gives a reason for the problem.
  5. Package ID in question: This field displays the package searched for when the problem was encountered.

Explanation of Options for resolve-locations

Enable the Use of Alternatives

Short option -a
Long option --enable-alternatives
EDN config file key :alternatives true
JSON config file key "alternatives": true,
Environment variable DEGASOLV_ALTERNATIVES="true"
Version introduced 1.5.0

Consider all alternatives encountered while resolving dependencies. This is the default behavior. It allows the developers and packagers to decide whether or not to use alternatives. As alternatives are generally expensive to resolve, packagers should of course use them with caution. If this option occurs together with the --disable-alternatives option on a command line, the last argument of the two specified wins.

Disable the Use of Alternatives

Short option -A
Long option --disable-alternatives
EDN config file key :alternatives false
JSON config file key "alternatives": false,
Environment variable DEGASOLV_ALTERNATIVES="false"
Version introduced 1.5.0

Consider only the first of any given set of alternatives for any particular requirement while resolving dependencies. It allows the package consumer to debug dependency resolution issues. This is especially useful when alternatives are used frequently in specifying requirements by packagers, thus causing performance issues on the part of the package consumers; or, when trying to figure out why dependencies won’t resolve properly. If this option occurs together with the --enable-alternatives option on a command line, the last argument of the two specified wins.

Note

Use of this option defeats the purpose of Degasolv supporting alternatives in the first place. This option is intended generally for use when debugging a build. If it is used routinely, it should be used site-wide.

Specify Solution Search Strategy

Short option -e STRAT
Long option --search-strat STRAT
EDN config file key :search-strat "STRAT"
JSON config file key "search-strat": "STRAT",
Environment variable DEGASOLV_SEARCH_STRAT="STRAT"
Version introduced 1.8.0

This option determines whether breadth first search or depth first search is used during package resolution. Valid values are depth-first to specify depth-first search or breadth-first to specify breadth-first search. This option is set to breadth-first by default.

Specify Conflict Strategy

Short option -f STRAT
Long option --conflict-strat STRAT
EDN config file key :conflict-strat "STRAT"
JSON config file key "conflict-strat": "STRAT",
Environment variable DEGASOLV_CONFLICT_STRAT="STRAT"
Version introduced 1.1.0

This option determines how encountered version conflicts will be handled. Valid values are exclusive, inclusive, and prioritized. The default setting is exclusive and this setting should work for most environments.

Note

This option should be used with care, since whatever setting is used will greatly alter behavior. It is therefore recommended that whichever setting is chosen should be used site-wide within an organization.

  • If set to exclusive, all dependencies and their version specifications must be satisfied in order for the command to succeed, and only one version of each package is allowed. This is the default option, and is the safest, though it may carry with it significant performance ramifications. It turns dependency resolution into an NP hard problem. This is normally not a problem since the number of dependencies at most organizations (on the order of hundreds) is relatively small, but it is something of which the reader should be aware.

  • If set to inclusive, all dependencies and their version specifications must be satisfied in order for the command to succeed, but multiple versions of each package are allowed to be part of the solution. To call for similar behavior to ruby’s gem or node’s npm, for example, set --conflict-strat to inclusive and set --resolve-strat to fast. This can be easily and cleanly specified done by using the multi-version-mode option pack.

  • If set to prioritized, then the first time a package is required and is found at a particular version, it will be considered to fulfill the all other encountered requirements asking for that package. This is intended to mimic the behavior of java’s maven package manager.

    It means that, for example, if package a at version 1 requires package b at version 1 and also package c at version 1; and package c at version 1 requires package b at version 2; then the packages a at version 1, the package b at version 1, and the package c at version 1 will be found. Despite the fact that c needed b to be at version 2, it had already been found at version 1 and that version was assumed to fulfill all requirements asking for package b.

    To mimic the behavior of maven, set --conflict-strat to prioritized and --resolve-strat to fast. This can be easily and cleanly specified done by using the firstfound-version-mode option pack.

Specify List Strategy

Short option -L STRAT
Long option --list-strat STRAT
EDN config file key :list-strat "STRAT"
JSON config file key "list-strat": "STRAT",
Environment variable DEGASOLV_LIST_STRAT="STRAT"
Version introduced 1.12.0

This option determines how packages will be listed once they are resolved. Valid values are as-set, lazy, and eager. As of version 2.0.0, the default value is lazy.

When the value is as-set, packages are listed in no particular order.

When the value is lazy or eager, packages are listed according to the following rules:

  1. Barring cases of circular dependency, the child dependencies of any package are always listed before the package they depend on.

  2. Circular dependencies are handled properly, but which dependency comes first is not guaranteed in all cases. In these cases the resolver must choose which dependency to ignore when it sees both. It choses to ignore the “deeper” dependency rather then the “shallower” package in the package resolution graph. So, for example, if package a relies on package b and package b relies on package a, but a is encountered first, the dependency from a to b will be honored but the dependency from b to a will be ignored when deciding in what order to list packages.

  3. Otherwise, dependee packages will be listed in the order that the requirements they fulfill are listed. This means that, all things being equal, a package resolving one requirement of a parent package will be printed before a package resolving a different requirement of a different package listed further down in the requirements list for the parent package.

    For example, if a Degasolv card file called “steel” is made using the below config file:

    {
    :requirements ["wool", "wood", "sheep"]
}

    When resolved, the represented package would be printed (or appear in the json or edn output, if output-format is set) in this order:

    wool==1.0 @ http://example.com/repo/wool-1.0.zip
wood==1.0 @ http://example.com/repo/wood-1.0.zip
sheep==1.0 @ http://example.com/repo/sheep-1.0.zip
steel==1.0 @ http://example.com/repo/steel-1.0.zip

    It is worth noting that command line arguments are listed in reverse order. Thus, generating a card file with arguments -r wool -r wood -r sheep would yield a list that looks like this:

    sheep==1.0 @ http://example.com/repo/sheep-1.0.zip
wood==1.0 @ http://example.com/repo/wood-1.0.zip
wool==1.0 @ http://example.com/repo/wool-1.0.zip
steel==1.0 @ http://example.com/repo/steel-1.0.zip

The difference between these options is that lazy will list dependencies as late as possible while following the above rules, while a value of eager tells Degasolv to list dependencies as early as possible while following the above rules.

Enable Error Output Format

Short option -g
Long option --enable-error-format
EDN config file key :error-format true
JSON config file key "error-format": true,
Environment variable DEGASOLV_ERROR_FORMAT="true"
Version introduced 1.12.0

This option extends the functionality of output-format to include when errors happen as well.

Normally, when the output-format key is specified, such as to cause Degasolv to emit JSON or EDN, this only happens if the command runs successfully. If package resolution was unsuccessful, an error message is printed to standard error and the program exits with non-zero return code. If error-format is specified, then any error information will be printed in the form of whatever output-format specifies to standard output, while still maintaining the same exit code.

When error information is returned via JSON or EDN, the keys are the same in the dictionary, except:

  • The result key now has the value of unsuccessful.
  • The packages key is not present.
  • A new key, problems, appears in place of the packages key containing information describing what went wrong.

As of version 2.0, the default behavior is to have :error-format enabled.

Disable Error Output Format

Short option -G
Long option --disable-error-format
EDN config file key :error-format false
JSON config file key "error-format": false,
Environment variable DEGASOLV_ERROR_FORMAT="false"
Version introduced 1.12.0

This option sets the :error-format flag to false.

Specify Output Format

Short option -o FORMAT
Long option --output-format FORMAT
EDN config file key :output-format "FORMAT"
JSON config file key "output-format": "FORMAT",
Environment variable DEGASOLV_OUTPUT_FORMAT="FORMAT"
Version introduced 1.10.0; EDN introduced 1.11.0

Specify an output format. May be plain, edn or json. This output format only takes effect when the package resolution was successful.

The default output format is plain. It is a simple text format that was designed for ease of use within bash scripts while also being somewhat pleasant to look at.

Example output on a successful run when the format is set to plain:

c==3.5.0 @ https://example.com/repo/c-3.5.0.zip
d==0.8.0 @ https://example.com/repo/d-0.8.0.zip
e==1.8.0 @ https://example.com/repo/e-1.8.0.zip
b==2.3.0 @ https://example.com/repo/b-2.3.0.zip

In the above example out, each line takes the form:

<id>==<version> @ <location>

When the output format is JSON, the output would spit out a JSON document containing lots of different keys and values representing some of the internal state Degasolv had when it resolved the packages. Among those keys will be a key called “packages”, and it will look something like this:

{
  "command": "degasolv",
  "subcommand": "resolve-locations",
  "options": {
    "requirements": [
      "b"
    ],
    "resolve-strat": "thorough",
    "index-strat": "priority",
    "conflict-strat": "exclusive",
    "search-directory": ".",
    "package-system": "degasolv",
    "output-format": "json",
    "version-comparison": "maven",
    "index-file": "index.dsrepo",
    "repositories": [
      "./index.dsrepo"
    ],
    "search-strat": "breadth-first",
    "alternatives": true,
    "present-packages": [
      "x==0.9.0",
      "e==1.8.0"
    ],
    "card-file": "./out.dscard"
  },
  "result": "successful",
  "packages": [
    {
      "id": "d",
      "version": "0.8.0",
      "location": "https://example.com/repo/d-0.8.0.zip",
      "requirements": [
        [
          {
            "status": "present",
            "id": "e",
            "spec": [
              [
                {
                  "relation": "greater-equal",
                  "version": "1.1.0"
                },
                {
                  "relation": "less-than",
                  "version": "2.0.0"
                }
              ]
            ]
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "c",
      "version": "3.5.0",
      "location": "https://example.com/repo/c-3.5.0.zip",
      "requirements": []
    },
    {
      "id": "b",
      "version": "2.3.0",
      "location": "https://example.com/repo/b-2.3.0.zip",
      "requirements": [
        [
          {
            "status": "present",
            "id": "c",
            "spec": [
              [
                {
                  "relation": "greater-equal",
                  "version": "3.5.0"
                }
              ]
            ]
          }
        ],
        [
          {
            "status": "present",
            "id": "d",
            "spec": null
          }
        ]
      ]
    }
  ]
}

If the output format is EDN, the output will be similar, except it will use the EDN format:

{
  :command "degasolv",
  :subcommand "resolve-locations",
  :options {
    :requirements ("a<=1.0.0"),
    :resolve-strat "thorough",
    :index-strat "priority",
    :conflict-strat "exclusive",
    :search-directory ".",
    :package-system "degasolv",
    :output-format "edn",
    :version-comparison "maven",
    :index-file "index.dsrepo",
    :repositories (
      "./index.dsrepo"
    ),
    :search-strat "breadth-first",
    :alternatives true,
    :card-file "./out.dscard"
  },
  :result :successful,
  :packages #{
    #degasolv.resolver/PackageInfo {
      :id "b",
      :version "2.3.0",
      :location "https://example.com/repo/b-2.3.0.zip",
      :requirements []
    },
    #degasolv.resolver/PackageInfo {
      :id "a",
      :version "1.0.0",
      :location "https://example.com/repo/a-1.0.0.zip",
      :requirements [
        [
          #degasolv.resolver/Requirement {
            :status :present,
            :id "b",
            :spec nil
          }
        ]
      ]
    }
  }
}

The output, if the format is not plain, will have the following top-level keys in it:

  • command: This is will be degasolv.
  • subcommand: This will reflect what subcommand was specified. In the current version, this will always be resolve-locations.
  • options: This shows what options were given when Degasolv was run. Its contents should roughly reflect the output of display-config when run with similar options.
  • result: This displays whether the run was successful or not. Since unsuccessful runs result in a printed error and not outputted JSON, this will be successful. At present, to determine whether a run was successful, use the return code of Degasolv rather than this key.
  • packages: This displays the list of packages and, if present, any additional meta-data associated with the package.

Specify that a Package is Already Present

Short option -p PKG
Long option --present-package PKG
EDN config file key :present-packages ["PKG1", ...]
JSON config file key "present-packages": ["PKG1", ...],
Environment variable DEGASOLV_PRESENT_PACKAGES="P1^..."
Version introduced 1.4.0

Specify a “hard present package”. Specify PKG as <id>==<vers>, as in this example: garfield==1.0.

Doing this tells Degasolv that a package “already exists” at a particular version in the system or build, whatever that means. This means that when Degasolv encounters a requirement for this package, it will assume the package is already found and it will mark the dependency as resolved. On the other hand, Degasolv will not try to change or update the found package. If the version of the present package conflicts with requirements encountered, resolution of those requirements may fail.

This is another one of those options that is provided and, if needed, is meant to benefit the user; however, judicious use is recommended. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you probably don’t want to use this option.

For example, if this option is used to tell Degasolv that, as part of a build, some packages have already been downloaded, Degasolv will not recommend that those packages be upgraded. This is the “hard” in “hard present package”: If the user specifies via --present-package that a package is already found and usable, Degasolv won’t try to find a new version for it; it assumes “you know what you’re doing” and that the package(s) in question are not to be touched.

Specify a Requirement

Short option -r REQ
Long option --requirement REQ
EDN config file key :requirements ["REQ1", ...]
JSON config file key "requirements": ["REQ1", ...],
Environment variable DEGASOLV_REQUIREMENTS="R1^R2^..."
Version introduced 1.0.2

Required. Resolve this requirement together with all other requirements given. May be specified one ore more times as a command line option, or once as a list of strings in a configuration file. See Specifying a requirement for more information.

The last requirement specified will be the first to be resolved. If the requirements are retrieved from the config file, they are resolved in order from first to last in the list. If requirements are specified both on the command line and in the configuration file, the requirements in the configuration file are ignored.

Specify a Resolution Strategy

Short option -s STRAT
Long option --resolve-strat STRAT
EDN config file key :resolve-strat "STRAT"
JSON config file key "resolve-strat": "STRAT",
Environment variable DEGASOLV_RESOLVE_STRAT="I1^..."
Version introduced 1.0.2

This option determines which versions of a given package id are considered when resolving the given requirements. If set to fast, only the first available version matching the first set of requirements on a particular package id is consulted, and it is hoped that this version will match all subsequent requirements constraining the versions of that id. If set to thorough, all available versions matching the requirements will be considered. The default setting is thorough and this setting should work for most environments.

Note

This option should be used with care, since whatever setting is used will greatly alter behavior. It is therefore recommended that whichever setting is chosen should be used site-wide within an organization.

Specify an Index Strategy

Short option -S STRAT
Long option --index-strat STRAT
EDN config file key :index-strat "STRAT"
JSON config file key "index-strat": "STRAT",
Environment variable DEGASOLV_INDEX_STRAT="STRAT"
Version introduced 1.0.2

Repositories are queried by package id in order to discover what packages are available to fulfill the given requirements. This option determines how multiple repository indexes are queried if there are more than one. If set to priority, the first repository that answers with a non-empty result is used, if any. Note that this is true even if the versions don’t match what is required.

For example, if <repo-x> contains a package a at version 1.8, and <repo-y> contains a package a at version 1.9, then the following command wil fail:

java -jar ./degasolv-<version>-standalone.jar -R <repo-x> -R <repo-y> \
    -r "a==1.9"

While, on the other hand, this command will succeed:

java -jar ./degasolv-<version>-standalone.jar -R <repo-y> -R <repo-x> \
    -r "a==1.9"

By contrast, if --index-strat is given the STRAT of global, all versions from all repositories answering to a particular package id will be considered. So, both of the following commands would succeed, under the scenario presented above:

java -jar ./degasolv-<version>-standalone.jar -S global \
    -R <repo-x> -R <repo-y> -r "a==1.9"

java -jar ./degasolv-<version>-standalone.jar -S global \
    -R <repo-y> -R <repo-x> -r "a==1.9"

The default setting is priority and this setting should work for most environments.

Note

This option should be used with care, since whatever setting is used will greatly alter behavior. It is therefore recommended that whichever setting is chosen should be used site-wide within an organization.

Specify a Package System

Short option -t SYS
Long option --package-system SYS
EDN config file key :package-system "SYS"
JSON config file key "package-system": "SYS",
Environment variable DEGASOLV_PACKAGE_SYSTEM="SYS"
Version introduced 1.4.0

Specify package system to use. By default, this value is degasolv. This causes the Degasolv’s resolve-locations command to behave normally.

Other available values are shown below.

The “apt” Package System

Experimental. The apt package system resolves using the APT debian package manager. When using this method, specify repositories using the format:

{binary-amd64|binary-i386} <url> <dist> <pool>

Or, in the case of naive apt repositories:

{binary-amd64|binary-i386} <url> <relative-path>

For example, I might use the repository option like this:

degasolv resolve-locations \
    -R "binary-amd64 https://example.com/ubuntu/ /"
    -t "apt" \
    --requirement "ubuntu-desktop"

Or this:

degasolv resolve-locations \
    -R "binary-amd64 https://example.com/ubuntu/ yakkety main" \
    -R "binary-i386 https://example.com/ubuntu/ yakkety main" \
    -t "apt" \
    --requirement "ubuntu-desktop"

Degasolv does not currently support APT dependencies between machine architectures, as in python:i386. Also, every Degasolv repo is currently architecture-specific; each repo has an associated architecture, even if that architecture is any.

The “subproc” Package System

The subproc package system allows the user to give Degasolv package information via a subprocess (shell-out) command. A path to an executable on the filesystem is given via the subproc-exe option. For each repository specified via the repository option, the subproc executable path is executed with the string given for the repository as its only argument. The executable is expected to print out JSON or EDN to standard output, depending on the value of the subproc-output-format option.

The output should be a dictionary of packages listed by name. The value for each dictionary key should be an array of dictionaries, with each dictionary giving information about a particular package instance. Within each package instance dictionary, there should exist the keys id for the package name, version for its version, and location giving its location. Any requirements for the package instance should be listed under the requirements key according to the rules laid out in Specifying a requirement.

This information will then be read into Degasolv and used to resolve dependencies.

If the format is JSON, which is the default, the output should be of the form:

{
    "pkgname": [
        {
            "id": "pkgname",
            "version": "p.k.g-version",
            "location": "pkg-url",
            "requirements": ["birch>=3.3", "lime|lemon"],
            <optional kv-pairs associated with package>
        }
    ],
    "otherpkgname": [...]
}

If the format is EDN, the output should be of the form:

{
    "pkgname" [
        # The following will be referred
        {
            :id "pkgname"
            :version "p.k.g-version"
            :location" "pkg-url"
            :requirements ["birch>=3.3" "lime|lemon"]
            <optional kv-pairs associated with package>
        }
    ]
    "otherpkgname" [...]
}

Any additional kv-pairs specified in a package’s record as shown above will appear in the resolution output if the output-format option is set to something other than plain.

If the executable exits with a non-zero error status code, Degasolv will print an error message looking like the following and also exit with a non-zero status code:

Error while evaluating repositories: Executable
`<path-to-exe>` given argument
`<repository-string>` exited with non-zero status `1`.

The resolver will search for packages in the order given in the output of the executable. Unless you have a good reason not to, you should list packages under the name of the package in the data structure on standard out in version-descending order.

Specify Subproc Package System Output Format

Short option -u FORMAT
Long option --subproc-output-format FORMAT
EDN config file key :subproc-output-format "FORMAT"
JSON config file key "subproc-output-format": "FORMAT",
Environment variable DEGASOLV_SUBPROC_OUTPUT_FORMAT="F"
Version introduced 1.12.0

This option only takes effect if the subproc choice was listed for the package-system option. It says whether the executable used by Degasolv to get information needed to resolve dependencies will come in the form of an EDN or a JSON document. This option is set to json by default. See package-system docs for more information.

Specify the Version Comparison Algorithm

Short option -V CMP
Long option --version-comparison CMP
EDN config file key :version-comparison "CMP"
JSON config file key "version-comparison": "CMP",
Environment variable DEGASOLV_VERSION_COMPARISON="CMP"
Version introduced 1.8.0

Use the specified version comparison algorithm when resolving dependencies.

This option allows the operator to change what version comparison algorithm is used. By default, the algorithm is “maven”. May be “debian”, “maven”, “naive”, “python” (PEP 440), “rpm”, “rubygem”, or “semver” (2.0.0). Version comparison algorithms are taken from the Serovers library. Descriptions for these algorithms can be found in the Serovers docs.

Caution

This is one of those options that should not be used unless the operator has a good reason, but it is available and usable if needed.

Note

This option should be used with care, since whatever setting is used will greatly alter behavior. Similar options are availabe for the generate-repo-index subcommand and the query-repo subcommand. They should all agree when used within the same site. It is therefore recommended that whichever setting is chosen should be used site-wide within an organization.

Specify Subproc Package System Executable

Short option -x PATH
Long option --subproc-exe PATH
EDN config file key :subproc-exe "PATH"
JSON config file key "subproc-exe": "PATH",
Environment variable DEGASOLV_SUBPROC_EXE="PATH"
Version introduced 1.12.0

This option only takes effect if the subproc choice was listed for the package-system option; however, it is required if the subproc choice was listed. It lists the path to the executable to use to get resolution information. See package-system docs for more information.

CLI for query-repo

Usage Page for query-repo

Running degasolv query-repo -h returns a page that looks something like this:

Usage: degasolv <options> query-repo <query-repo-options>

Options are shown below. Default values are marked as <DEFAULT> and
  descriptions. Options marked with `**` may be
  used more than once.

  -g, --enable-error-format               Enable output format for errors (default)
  -G, --disable-error-format              Disable output format for errors
  -q, --query QUERY                       Display packages matching query string.
  -R, --repository INDEX                  Search INDEX for packages. **
  -S, --index-strat STRAT       priority  May be 'priority' or 'global'.
  -t, --package-system SYS      degasolv  May be 'degasolv' or 'apt'.
  -V, --version-comparison CMP  maven     May be 'debian', 'maven', 'naive', 'python', 'rpm', 'rubygem', or 'semver'.
  -h, --help                              Print this help page

The following options are required for subcommand `query-repo`:

  - `-R`, `--repository`, or the config file key `:repositories`.
  - `-q`, `--query`, or the config file key `:query`.

Overview of query-repo

This subcommand introduced as of version 1.0.2.

This subcommand queries a repository index or indices for packages. This comand is intended to be useful or debugging dependency problems. If errors occur relative to finding packages in the repository, as opposed to errors occuring because incorrect arguments were given, a return code of 2 is returned to the calling program (likely a shell).

Explanation of Options for query-repo

Enable Error Output Format

Short option -g
Long option --enable-error-format
EDN config file key :error-format true
JSON config file key "error-format": true,
Environment variable DEGASOLV_ERROR_FORMAT="true"
Version introduced 1.12.0

This option extends the functionality of output-format to include when errors happen as well.

Normally, when the output-format key is specified, such as to cause Degasolv to emit JSON or EDN, this only happens if the command runs successfully. If querying the repo was unsuccessful, an error message is printed to standard error and the program exits with non-zero return code. If error-format is enabled, then any error information will be printed in the form of whatever output-format specifies to standard output, while still maintaining the same exit code.

When error information is returned via JSON or EDN, the keys are the same in the dictionary, except:

  • The result key now has the value of unsuccessful.
  • The packages key is not present.
  • A new key, problems, appears in place of the packages key containing information describing what went wrong.

As of version 2.0, the default behavior is to have :error-format enabled.

Disable Error Output Format

Short option -G
Long option --disable-error-format
EDN config file key :error-format false
JSON config file key "error-format": false,
Environment variable DEGASOLV_ERROR_FORMAT="false"
Version introduced 1.12.0

This option sets the :error-format flag to false.

Specify Output Format

Short option -o FORMAT
Long option --output-format FORMAT
EDN config file key :output-format "FORMAT"
JSON config file key "output-format": "FORMAT"
Environment variable DEGASOLV_OUTPUT_FORMAT="FORMAT"
Version introduced 1.11.0

Specify an output format. May be plain, edn or json. By default the output format is plain. This output format only takes effect when the query returns a non-empty set of results. This is exactly like the output-format option for resolve-locations, except that the subcommand field is new returned as query-repo.

Specify Query

Short option -q QUERY
Long option --query QUERY
Config file key N/A
Version introduced 1.0.2

Required. Query repository index or indices for a package. Syntax is exactly the same as requirements except that only one alternative may be specified (that is, using the | character or specifying multiple package ids), and the requirement must specify a present package (no ! character may be used either). See Specifying a requirement for more information.

Examples of valid queries:

  • "pkg"
  • "pkg!=3.0.0"

Examples if invalid queries:

  • "a|b"
  • "!a"

Specify a Repository to Search

Short option -R INDEX
Long option --repository INDEX
EDN config file key :repositories ["INDEX1", ...]
JSON config file key "repositories": ["INDEX1", ...],
Environment variable DEGASOLV_REPOSITORIES="I1^I2^..."
Version introduced 1.0.2

Required This option works exactly the same as the repository option for the resolve-locations command, except that instead of using the repositories for resolving requirements, it uses them for simple index queries. See that option’s explanation for more information.

Specify an Index Strategy

Short option -S STRAT
Long option --index-strat STRAT
EDN config file key :index-strat "STRAT"
JSON config file key "index-strat": "STRAT",
Environment variable DEGASOLV_INDEX_STRAT="STRAT"
Version introduced 1.0.2

This option works exactly the same as the index strategy option for the resolve-locations command, except that it is used for simple index queries. See that option’s explanation for more information.

Specify a Package System

Short option -t SYS
Long option --package-system SYS
EDN config file key :package-system "SYS"
JSON config file key "package-system": "SYS",
Environment variable DEGASOLV_PACKAGE_SYSTEM="SYS"
Version introduced 1.4.0

This option works exactly the same as the package system option for the resolve-locations command, except that it is used for simple index queries. See that option’s explanation for more information.

Specify the Version Comparison Algorithm

Short option -V CMP
Long option --version-comparison CMP
EDN config file key :version-comparison "CMP"
JSON config file key "version-comparison": "CMP",
Environment variable DEGASOLV_VERSION_COMPARISON="CMP"
Version introduced 1.8.0

Use the specified version comparison algorithm when querying the repository.

This option allows the operator to change what version comparison algorithm is used. By default, the algorithm is “maven”. May be “debian”, “maven”, “naive”, “python” (PEP 440), “rpm”, “rubygem”, or “semver” (2.0.0). Version comparison algorithms are taken from the Serovers library. Descriptions for these algorithms can be found in the Serovers docs.

Caution

This is one of those options that should not be used unless the operator has a good reason, but it is available and usable if needed.

Note

This option should be used with care, since whatever setting is used will greatly alter behavior. Similar options are availabe for the generate-repo-index subcommand and the resolve-locations subcommand. They should all agree when used within the same site. It is therefore recommended that whichever setting is chosen should be used site-wide within an organization.

Specifying a requirement

Unless otherwise noted, features in this section were introduced as of version 1.0.2 or earlier.

A requirement is given as a string of text. A requirement consists of one or more alternatives. Any of the alternatives will satisfy the requirement. Alternatives are specified by a bar character (|), like this:

"<alt1>|<alt2>|<alt3>"

Or, more concretely:

"hickory|maple|oak"

Alternatives will be considered in order of appearance.

Caution

In general, specifying more than one alternative is mostly unecessary, and should generally be avoided. This is because specifying too many alternatives tends to impact performance significantly; but they are available and usable if needed.

Each alternative is composed of a package id and an optional specification of what versions of that package satisfy the alternative, like this:

"<pkgid><version spec>"

For example:

"hickory>=3.0"

A version spec is a boolean expression of version predicates describing what versions may satisfy the alternative. The character ; represents discution (OR) and the character , represents conjunction (AND), like this:

"<pred1>,<pred2>;<pred3>,<pred4>"

This is interpreted as:

"(<pred1> AND <pred2>) OR (<pred3> AND <pred4>)"

For example, this expression:

"spruce>=1.0.0,<2.0.0;>=3.0.0,<4.0.0"

Is interpreted as:

"spruce at version ((>=1.0.0 AND <2.0.0) OR (>=3.0.0 AND <4.0.0))"

Comparison Operators

Each version predicate is composed of a comparison operator and a valid version against which to compare a package’s version. The character sequences <, <=, !=, ==, >=, and > represent the comparisons “older than”, “older than or equal to”, “not equal to”, “equal to”, “newer than or equal to”, and “newer than”, respectively, using whatever version comparison algorithm was specified using the CLI, or using the maven version comparison algorithm by default.

In addition to the above operators, three other version spec operators are provided:

  • The “matches” operator: <>. Introduced of version 1.8.0. This operator is given in a version spec as <>REGEX. The version of any package found during the resolution process must match the given java regular expression. Examples:

    • The expression <>\d+\.\d+\.\d+ matches any version containing a three-part version in it.
    • The expression <>f[ea]{2}ture matches any version containing the strings “feature”, “faeture”, “feeture” or “faature”.

  • The “in-range” operator: =>. Introduced as of version 1.8.0. This operator is given in a version spec as =>RANGE. The version of any package found during the resolution process must be in the given version range. Examples:

    • The expression =>3.x matches the versions 3.0.0, 3.0.0.0 and 3.0 but not 4.0 or higher.
    • The expression =>3.3.x matches the versions 3.3.0, 3.3.8 and 3.3.8.99999 but not 3.4.0.

    Ranges are calculated in the following way:

    • Any non-digit characters found on the end of the RANGE string are removed.
    • All digit characters found on the end of the RANGE string are converted into a number and incremented. The incremented number is then put back into the version string, replacing any digit characters that were at the end of the string before. So, 3.x becomes 4, 3. becomes 4, and 2ormore becomes 3.
    • Finally, any versions comparing greater than or equal to the original RANGE string, but less than the incremented version string as computed in the previous step, are considered for dependency resolution.

  • The “pessimistic greater-than” operator: ><. Introduced as of version 1.9.0. This operator is given in a version spec as ><VERS. The version of any package found during the resolution process must be greater or equal to the given version but less than the next major version. Examples:

    • The expression ><3.2.1 matches the versions 3.2.1, 3.4.3 but not 4.0.0 or higher, nor does it match 3.2.0.
    • The expression ><3.3.3 matches the versions 3.3.3, 3.3.8 and 3.9.8 but not 4.0.0.

    “The next major version” is calculated similarly to how ranges are calculated:

    • The first found set of digit characters found in the VERS string are converted into a number and incremented. The remainder of the version string after the incremented number is discarded.
    • Any versions comparing greater than or equal to the original VERS string, but less this new “incremented” version string as computed in the previous step, are considered for dependency resolution.

Examples

The following are examples of valid alternatives, together with their english interpretations:

Alternative English Interpretation
"oak" Find package oak
"pine>1.0" Find package pine of version newer than 1.0
"pine><3.4.1-alpha8" Find package pine of version newer than or equal to 3.4.1-alpha8 but less than 4.
"fir<>\\d+\\.8" Find package fir containing “<digits>.8” somewhere in the version string
"cedar=>3.x" Find package cedar at version greater or equal to major component 3 but less than 4
"hickory>1.0,<=2.0" Find package hickory with version newer than``1.0`` and older than or equal to 2.0.
"fir<=2.0;>3.5,!=3.8" Find a package fir with version (newer than 1.0 and older than or equal to 2.0) OR (with version newer than 3.5 but not equal to 3.8)

Note

To make debugging easier, try to keep things as simple as possible. Try not to make requirement strings very long. When using the inclusive or priority conflict strategies, it is recommended to specify exact package names and versions, like this: pkgname==1.0.0. The simpler the requirement string, the easier it will be to untangle any untoward dependency problems.

Negative alternatives are requirements that all packages with a particular id and matching a particular version spec must be absent from the list of packages found when resolving dependencies. To negate an alternative, prepend it with the ! character.

For example, the following alternative means “make sure the spruce package is not present in the list”:

!spruce

This alternative means “If package a is present in the list, make sure its version is not in the range (3.0,4.0]”:

!a>3.0,<=4.0

The following are practical examples of requirements, together with their interpretations.

Requirement Explanation
"oak|pine>5.0" Require oak at any version, or pine at versions greater than 5.0
"hickory>=3.0,<4.0" Require hickory at a 3.x version.
"!birch|birch<=3.0" "!birch>3.0" An important example. This demonstrates how to specify what maven calls a managed dependency. It means if birch is required by another package, ensure that its version is older than or equal to 3.0. It is good practice to prefer the expression with only one alternative.
"!oak|maple>3.0" If oak is installed, then make sure maple after version 3.0 is installed also.
"oak|!pine" Require the presence of the oak package, or the absence of the pine package.