apt.conf examples should include caching

[Lars Noodén]

Many sites have an HTTP+FTP proxy/cache already set up and running. If I understand correctly would be possible to use Apt.conf to run requests to Ubuntu's repositories through the proxy/cache. I would like the examples document for apt.conf to include a sample configuration for squid or some other common proxy/cache. (Note, this should not be "apt-cacher", though it might be useful to mention "apt-cacher" in *addition* to a regular proxy cache. However, since few sites have apt-cacher in place, using an example of a regular proxy/cache is needed.)

When setting up, updating, patching or upgrading a large site, speed would be increased several orders of magnitude by having a local cache. This would also be good for the Internet as it would reduce unnecessary congestion.

[Lars Noodén (larsnooden)]

Sorry I missed the package: apt

[Lars Noodén (larsnooden)]

Ubuntu's "AptGetHowto" describes this in the section "Setting up apt-get to use a http-proxy"
    https://help.ubuntu.com/community/AptGetHowto

Some example like that should be in /usr/shar/doc/apt/examples/apt.conf, too.

[Clint Byrum (clint-fewbar)]

Hi Lars, thanks so much for taking the time to file this report.

I concur with the feeling that this would be a worthy addition, and went ahead and forwarded this upstream to debian.

http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=596286

It may get lost in the thick of 600+ open bugs against apt, so make sure to add a patch too, which should help the maintainer notice it and get it applied ASAP.

Marking Triaged as it has been forwarded upstream.

[Julian Andres Klode (juliank)]

Closing this bug as invalid, we ship complete documentation for proxy options; and the requested examples are given in /usr/share/doc/apt/examples/configure-index.gz

[Clint Byrum (clint-fewbar)]

As it is a Wishlist request Julian, I think the proper status is "Won't Fix", as I believe Lars was asking for simpler, more clear examples, though I leave it up to the apt maintainers to set that status.

Another suggestion would be to use squid-deb-proxy and squid-deb-proxy-client, which solve this problem in a quite unique way.