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

NAME

       dpkg-split - Debian package archive split/join tool

SYNOPSIS

       dpkg-split [options] command

DESCRIPTION

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

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

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

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

COMMANDS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

	      By default the output file is called package-version.deb.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

       --version
	      Show the version and exit.

OPTIONS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

EXIT STATUS

       An exit status of 0 indicates that the requested split, merge, or other command succeeded.  --info commands count as successful even if the
       files are not binary package parts.

       An exit status of 1 occurs only with --auto and indicates that the part file was not a binary package part.

       An exit status of 2 indicates some kind of trouble, such as a system call failure, a file that looked like a package part file but was cor-
       rupted, a usage error or some other problem.

BUGS

       dpkg-split uses some rather out-of-date conventions for the the filenames of Debian packages.

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

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

       The architecture is not represented in the part files' header, only in the control information of the contained binary package file, and it
       is not present in the filenames generated.

FILES

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

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

SEE ALSO

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

AUTHOR

       Copyright (C) 1995-1996 Ian Jackson

       This is free software; see the GNU General Public Licence version 2 or later for copying conditions. There is NO WARRANTY.

Debian Project							    2009-06-26							     dpkg-split(1)