i am not new to pacman. i have tried obarun at least once, it looks very cool, but more to the point i think it uses pacman and i think the next distro i remix will likely be pacman-based.

i will be honest, if you want to know the main reason ive stayed away from arch-based things for ages, its pacman.

youre going to think this is whingy-- i really hate the command line switches. its not just me-- i dont want to subject other people to them.

im not here to complain or demand anything, id like your help solving this. i can certainly solve this myself, but with advice from people who actually use pacman, i can do it better than if i read then guess the best way.

so here are the commands im used to in debian-land:

apt-get install leafpad # download + install leafpad
apt-get remove leafpad # uninstall leafpad
apt-cache search pad # find leafpad-like packages
apt-get update # download package lists
apt-get dist-upgrade # upgrade to next debian version

these are the only 5 apt commands i really need for me or other people.

as fungal blogged recently, portage is the standard gentoo package thing, and emerge is the friendly version with apt-like commands.

im looking to make a simple interface to pacman that can do this:

download+install pkgname
uninstall pkgname
search package list for partial pkgname
update package list
dist-upgrade (this is a bonus.)

i do realise that some of these tasks may involve 2 or more commands.

thats not a problem, thats fine-- i can code enough in bash and python to solve that.

i find the pacman docs very unintuitive. thus rather than using pacman again i want to make this easier interface.

since this is the most relaxed arch community ive talked to, i thought id ask you guys first. some other arch community might throw me out for even asking this ridiculous thing (just guessing, not accusing anybody.)

again, im looking for pacman commands to achieve at least:

download+install pkg
uninstall pkg
search list
update (download) latest list
(bonus) upgrade everything

and the reason im asking you guys is simple: lots of switches = occasional gotchas you can steer me away from. otherwise id just fiddle with the howto until i thought it did what i want.

thanks. note that if this works, i will probably suggest it to anybody that is like "i dont like pacman... apt please"

"try this."
maybe this one can help you : https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Pacman/Rosetta

Anyway :

download+install pkg -> pacman -S pkg
only download -> pacman -Sw pkg

uninstall pkg -> pacman -R pkg
uninstall pkg and dependencies -> pacman -Rs pkg

search list -> pacman -Ss pkg
search on local -> pacman -Qs pkg

update (download) latest list -> pacman -Sy
(bonus) upgrade everything -> pacman -Syu

Obarun use zsh and zsh are a really good completion stuff and we have all options and suboptions of pacman (even for long or short options) when we press TAB. A good way to test and knowning what the command do, example of zsh completion : 
obarun@ obarunS6 ~ % pacman -
option
--database  -D  -- Modify database                                            
--deptest   -T  -- Check if dependencies are installed                        
--files     -F  -- Query the files database                                   
--help      -h  -- Display usage                                              
--query     -Q  -- Query the package database                                 
--remove    -R  -- Remove a package from the system                           
--sync      -S  -- Synchronize packages                                       
--upgrade   -U  -- Upgrade a package                                          
--version   -V  -- Display version and exit 
obarun@ obarunS6 ~ % pacman -R
option
-b  -- Alternate database location
-c  -- Remove all dependent packages
-d  -- Skip dependency checks
-h  -- Display syntax for the given operation
-n  -- Remove protected configuration files
-p  -- Only print the targets instead of performing the operation
-r  -- Set alternate installation root
-s  -- Remove dependencies not required by other packages
-u  -- Remove unneeded packages
-v  -- Be more verbose
obarun@ obarunS6 ~ % pacman -Rnsu systemd --
option
--arch              -- Set an alternate architecture
--assume-installed  -- Add virtual package to satisfy dependencies
--cachedir          -- Alternate package cache location
--cascade           -- Remove all dependent packages
--color             -- colorize the output
--config            -- An alternate configuration file
--confirm           -- Always ask for confirmation
--dbonly            -- Only remove database entry, do not remove files
--dbpath            -- Alternate database location
--debug             -- Display debug messages
--gpgdir            -- Set an alternate directory for GnuPG (instead of /etc
--help              -- Display syntax for the given operation
--hookdir           -- Set an alternate hook location
--logfile           -- An alternate log file
--noconfirm         -- Do not ask for confirmation
--nodeps            -- Skip dependency checks
--noprogressbar     -- Do not show a progress bar when downloading files
--nosave            -- Remove protected configuration files
--noscriptlet       -- Do not execute the install scriptlet if one exists
--print             -- Only print the targets instead of performing the oper
--print-format      -- Specify how the targets should be printed
--recursive         -- Remove dependencies not required by other packages
--root              -- Set alternate installation root
--unneeded          -- Remove unneeded packages
--verbose           -- Be more verbose
obarun@ obarunS6 [1] ~ % sudo pacman -Rnsu systemd --cascade
erreur: impossible de trouver la cible: systemd
:p
also eric did a great job with pacopts for aur

pacopts aur -s pkg --> search for aur packet
pacopts aur -i pkg --> more info about packet
pacopts aur -I pkg --> download and install aur packet
pacopts aur -u (pkg) --> if packet is out of date update, if no pkg is written it will update all aur packets.

you remove those packets normally with pacman -Rs
Here is an idea, write a fig script that runs arch/pacman commands with debian/apt spelling, like if it was apt4arch
Then put it on AUR for x-debianers
fungalnet wroteHere is an idea, write a fig script that runs arch/pacman commands with debian/apt spelling, like if it was apt4arch
Then put it on AUR for x-debianers
thats a good idea. i probably will use fig, for two reasons-- the first is that although i can code in bash and python, fig code is easier for me to write and maintain. it should be; that was a design goal. i am editing a 700-line fig program today, it downloads void and modifies the iso. i would not have as much fun doing this with pure bash or python. by the way, if youre having trouble remastering void, the -volid needs to be VOID_LIVE and if your remaster program changes it, it wont boot. (im sure you can change that somewhere in the isolinux cfg. the -volid becomes the id by which the filesystem is mounted.)

the other reason is that its easier for me to teach fig than bash or python (ive tried both) and so the more practical examples, the better.

my program for comparing contents of different puppy distros was done in fig, and that led to distdiff (a program to compare isos and sqaushfs contents) and ultimately to me remixing distros and hybrids. little demos can become larger projects very easily, especially when the function scope is local (bash has global scope, which is a pain for large amounts of code.)

pacopts is a great example, i agree.

i am hoping that my void remix will have a number of features that are useful to people transitioning from debian, though im sorry to report that bash as the default shell will be one of those. i have tried zsh more than once, it just doesnt grab me. i dont plan to remove it, just change the default user shell. hopefully the shbang lines will keep native zsh scripts working where they should.

as the void remix becomes more useful (right now im struggling with the filesystem in the squashfs-- thats a filesystem in a filesystem-- ive got it, but im doing something wrong and im planning to work on that after i type this) i will talk about its features and consider doing a demo version with obarun, if possible.

this (simple) fig program for package management is a high priority, but not as high as getting the remaster working. by the way, im told refracta tools works on void with little tweaking, and it probably works on obarun with little tweaking also. fsr and i are talking about other distros a lot at the moment; hes aware of my plans to leave the debian distro family and im keeping him up to speed.

thanks everybody for the input. i know im not going to gain any zsh fans with the bash default, what i would really like is a shell thats like bash but with fewer features-- not more. i like bash better than dash (right, dash) for syntactic reasons.
May I ask an innocent question, since you brought up void (which I thought "was" a very honest system and project)?

From what we are told the team of current void developers have been locked out of the founder's github account since January. They announce the problem in May. They have set up a new domain to transfer the project, but still it is not clear where the distributions git server will be located.
Where is the source getting published?
Unless I am missing something has this been a non-Gnu gnu-linux for months?
Then someone says that the git is getting updated and revisions are visible and up to date.
And who is responsible for those?
It is an underplayed mess, that is what it is. It continues to be a mess only because the current devs don't want to lose possession of the precious name and history of void, otherwise a void2 would have been underway and official and healthy.

When one person handles things in a weird way it is ok, it reflects on the personality of that one person. When many people together are saying and doing things that don't seem to add up, it is time to take the microscope out and be weary of what might really be going on. So I would put moth balls on void and lock it in the closet till the dust and the smoke clear up.
somewhat offtopic. but anyways:
From what we are told the team of current void developers have been locked out of the founder's github account since January.
nope. not locked out. they just don't have the ability to add new admin to the organization( to help with pull request approval etc)
(anybody can be a contributor if the can write a template)
the day to day functioning of void remains the same, just it's growth is stymied by the present circumstances..
ive already spent a day or two to get mkfigos working with void instead of devuan. this is actually the fourth or fifth (or sixth) distro ive used mkfigos on. and its a very nice base, i will tell you the things ive noticed:

* no python. no curl. no wget. and yet, lxqt! (im not being sarcastic when i say im sure this makes enough sense to them. i chose the lxqt version, its nice enough.) i installed python, it was not difficult.

* they dont know if they want forks or not (i wasnt making a fork, so no problem if you ask me)

* they have questions for me that i literally cant reply to, because discourse is...

that was my third and last discourse forum. nice people, i wish them well, i may very well use void as a base. but discourse is the systemd of forum software. to quote league of gentlemen:

[describing what each pair of scissors on the wall is for]

"black for paper, chrome for string
the blue ones from this hook do swing

we keep them clean, dont be mistaken
for kitchen jobs like trimming bacon"

"and then theres the towels..."

"white for hands, brown for feet
green for torso, thighs and seat

and in the cupboard 'neath the stair"

...is the reason no link was included.

you really neednt go after void, theyve got enough problems. my main reasons for using it are:

* 32 bit kernel
* kernel is blob free (but not linux-libre, so thats good)
* no systemd
* not debian

except for the first two items, i would choose obarun over void for sure (plus it has python2 and wget out of the box.)

in the future i may make an obarun version either way, if i can swap the 64-bit kernel with one i like (ive looked at the arch kernels page.) im not sure how much 32-bit really matters.

i am going to keep using void for the moment, and i dont think what theyre doing is dishonest. i hope they stick around-- i wouldnt miss their forum though.

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