Aptitude is a package manager. Installs, removes, and updates automatically download the packages you tell it, as well as their dependencies, and optionally, recommendations and suggestions (remember that the packages in Debian, have plenty of relations between them, beyond the dependency).

Similarities with apt-get

Both make use of apt, but aptitude is better reputation than apt-get updates on complicated when some packages conflict, or you want to update only part of the system, so there is no broken packages with their units. It's not just that the algorithm update could be better or not (which I do not know, but that is what I understood to be reading mailing lists), but with aptitude to work in another way, marking the first actions to perform ( they can be more than one at a time), and then doing the upgrade, which allows a great control.

Advantages of aptitude versus aptitude

I will describe above, using examples where possible, some of the situations where we would have a better performance using aptitude, that using apt-get.

  • He took suggestions and recommendations

    • If installed by apt-get package cdrecord, we will have a program working perfectly, as it installs all its units. However, most people need to create ISO images, the package mkisofs. It is therefore recommended that cdrecord mkisofs. By using apt-get, probably see a warning, but aptitude can be configured to take account of these packages, and install them as if they were units, which is quite advised.

  • Packages automatic and manual

    • If you install a package of a program that you know (eg Mozilla), it is possible that it will install other packages that you do not even know it existed, such as libraries that are needed to operate this program, which are its units (per example, libnspr, which provides code that mozilla needs to function). Then if you get tired of mozilla, and delete it, is erased their units?

    With no aptitude, and we must resort to deborphan or debfoster, to control that with time, things are not loose that we are not interested in the system. However, aptitude makes it the right way: when you install a package, remember whether the package was installed manually or automatically. The packages are installed manually, is that the user has explicitly requested. The packages that are installed as dependencies (or suggestions, or recommendations), are automatically deleted unless they have reverse dependencies (ie, whether the package was installed libnss mozilla just because I needed it, it will be uninstalled when mozilla is uninstalled, and if no other packages are most in need).

Brief instruction manual 

  aptitude install package

Install the package requested, and all its agencies (by default, also the recommendations, which are for something). 

  aptitude remove package

Removes the package requested. If removing that package, there are others who are no longer required, will also be eliminated. Do not worry about it, aptitude knows what it is ;-). 

  aptitude purge package

Same as above but also removing the configuration files 

  aptitude update

Updates the list of available packages, based on what they read / etc / apt / sources.list 

  aptitude upgrade

Actuliza the system safely 

  dist-upgrade

Updates the system, eliminating and removing packages that are necessary. Although it is the norm, sometimes you may want to upgrade only some using 'upgrade'. 

  aptitude-h

Displays the help of aptitude.

Via | http://www.badopi.org/suy/aptitude.

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