join-dctrl

join-dctrl [options] file1 file2

-a
    Field to join on.

-o
    Output only this field.

-v
    Verbose output.

--help
    Display help message and exit.

--version
    Display version information and exit.

--no-sort
    Do not sort output (records will be sorted by the joined field if it is missing)

The `join-dctrl` command is a specialized tool for joining records from two Debian Control Files (dctrl). Debian Control Files are used to store metadata about Debian packages, such as package names, versions, dependencies, and descriptions. `join-dctrl` efficiently merges records from two such files based on a specified field, similar to the `join` command for regular text files, but optimized for the structured format of dctrl files. It is often used in Debian package management scripts and build processes to combine or update package information.
The main use case is combining multiple sources of package information into a single, unified record. It supports joining based on specific fields and provides options to control the output format and handling of missing or duplicate records.
Example use: Combining source and binary package information

Debian Control Files (dctrl) typically consist of paragraphs separated by blank lines. Each paragraph contains fields in the format `Field-Name: Value`. `join-dctrl` is designed to work with this specific format.
Note: Incorrectly formatted files may cause unexpected behavior.

If `join-dctrl` can successfully join all the records, then the exist status is `0`, otherwise is `1`.

apt-cache(1), dpkg(1), grep(1), sed(1), awk(1)