The QUERY argument

If QUERY is omitted, sbbdep will only run the cache synchronisation (unless --nosync is set). sbbdep accepts exactly one QUERY value.

The query value can be:

  • A file name
    If the argument is a package file from /var/adm/packages or a dynamic linked binary or library, sbbdep runs its query on that file.
    If the argument is some other regular file, sbbdep performs a lookup in all installed packages and reports where the file is from.

  • A folder name
    sbbdep interprets the given folder as the $DESTDIR of a make install DESTDIR=/some/where command.
    It scans for dynamic linked files in the usual directories relative to DESTDIR and reports dependencies on libraries that are not within the DESTDIR itself — i.e. external package dependencies.

  • Just a string
    If the argument is not a file or folder, sbbdep looks up the string in the file lists of all installed packages and reports matches.

See the examples to see how it works.

Dependency search

Default dependency search

sbbdep uses the ELF information found in dynamic linked files and searches for the required sonames in the standard library search paths.
If a dependency is found in more than one package, sbbdep combines them with an | (or).
By default sbbdep reports only direct dependencies: for a file A that needs file B which needs file C, only B is reported.

See the examples to see how it works.

--ldd dependency search

With --ldd, sbbdep searches like the ldd command — it reports the full transitive dependency tree, so for a file A that needs B which needs C, both B and C are reported.
This option is useless for a --whoneeds query.

See the examples to see how it works.

The --whoneeds query

Instead of reporting what a file or package requires, --whoneeds reports which other packages depend on it.

This is mostly accurate, however the nature of alternative dependencies means a reported package may not strictly depend on the queried one — it may have an alternative. Cross-checking with a normal dependency query confirms this.

See the examples to see how it works.

--xdl — explain dynamic linkage

With --xdl sbbdep reports dependencies at the individual file level, showing exactly which file provides each required library.
Works with both dependency and --whoneeds queries.

See the examples to see how it works.

-s / --short — short output format

By default sbbdep prints package names with version numbers. With --short only the package name is printed, and in some cases names are separated by commas on a single line instead of one per line.

See the examples to see how it works.

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