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Why can't APT install more than one application at a time? Why does it need to exit before installing the next. I know with MS Windows you can install how many application at once. This problem is not unique to Ubuntu but to all distros, that I have notice.

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That's because each package has specific details about how it can be installed.

Post-processing for a package sometimes has follow up (symlinking, documentation generation, et cetera). Such processing may pre-depend on other processes having completed.

This isn't a Linux flaw. It's a "computation" flaw. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halting_problem).

No package manager can determine if it's successfully installed the dependencies shy of actually trying to install. Windows is not immune from this.

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  • If there isn't another one by the next time that I look at this. I will accepted this as my answer. Properly no later than 2 days.
    – MathCubes
    Apr 21, 2014 at 5:28
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Both dpkg and RPM can handle more than one application install at a time. For instance:

sudo apt-get install firefox thunderbird

This command will install both Firefox and Thunderbird in the same command. More recent versions of apt-get will actually begin the downloads using potentially different sources as well.

yum, zypper, and dnf also handle multiple applications in the same way.

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    But they install like 1 than 2, not like all of the same time!
    – MathCubes
    Apr 21, 2014 at 1:03
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    That's because each package has specific details about how it can be installed. Post-processing for a package sometimes has follow up (symlinking, documentation generation, et cetera). Such processing may predepend on other processes having completed. This isn't a Linux flaw. It's a "computation" flaw. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halting_problem). No package manager can determine if it's successfully installed the dependencies shy of actually trying to install. Windows is not immune from this. Apr 21, 2014 at 1:20
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    Post it as an answer.
    – MathCubes
    Apr 21, 2014 at 2:38
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    Done. And now I feel dirty. :P Apr 21, 2014 at 2:49
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You can install more than one application at once by typing the following command in terminal
sudo apt-get install <package-one> <package-one> ...
replace the latter by package names

It will install the packages sequentially not all at once but it will save you the trouble for waiting one installation to finish and the entering another to installation

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    It doesnot install apps all at once but it installs them in given order one by one. Apr 21, 2014 at 4:37
  • Sorry, I entered the edit earlier but there was a network problem at my place
    – akxer
    Apr 21, 2014 at 22:47
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It doesn't means you install 2 packages at the sametime when you use sudo apt install <p1> <p2>.... It means install these packages in order to following queue. We're talking about installing another package when one is already installing. Such as you typed sudo apt install gdebi then you found one more package you will need and start typing sudo apt install <packageName> but it says waiting for cach lock because you are not allowed to install more than one at the same time...

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