Debian bug report logs - #1402 `Packages' file doesn't contain `Provides' fields !!!! Package: ftp site ; Reported by: Ian Jackson ; Done: imurdock@debian.org (Ian Murdock). ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Message received at debian-bugs-done: From debian.org!imurdock Thu Oct 12 06:10:09 1995 Return-Path: Received: from pixar.com by mongo.pixar.com with smtp (Smail3.1.28.1 #15) id m0t3NOj-000G5kC; Thu, 12 Oct 95 06:10 PDT Received: from imagine.imaginit.com by pixar.com with SMTP id AA10226 (5.67b/IDA-1.5 for debian-bugs-done-pipe@mongo.pixar.com); Thu, 12 Oct 1995 06:09:44 -0700 Received: by imagine.imaginit.com id (Debian /\oo/\ Smail3.1.29.1 #29.33); Thu, 12 Oct 95 08:13 EST Message-Id: Date: Thu, 12 Oct 95 08:13 EST From: imurdock@debian.org (Ian Murdock) To: debian-bugs-done@pixar.com Subject: Bug#1402: This program at the FTP archive has been fixed. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Notification sent to Ian Jackson : Bug acknowledged by developer. Full text available. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Reply sent to imurdock@debian.org (Ian Murdock) : You have taken responsibility. Full text available. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Message received at debian-bugs: From thor.cam.ac.uk!iwj10 Thu Sep 21 11:28:41 1995 Return-Path: Received: from pixar.com by mongo.pixar.com with smtp (Smail3.1.28.1 #15) id m0svqMT-0006fFC; Thu, 21 Sep 95 11:28 PDT Received: from hammer.thor.cam.ac.uk by pixar.com with SMTP id AA22372 (5.67b/IDA-1.5 for debian-bugs-pipe@mongo.pixar.com); Thu, 21 Sep 1995 11:28:22 -0700 Received: by hammer.thor.cam.ac.uk (Smail-3.1.29.0 #77) id m0svqMK-000JfBC; Thu, 21 Sep 95 19:28 BST Message-Id: Date: Thu, 21 Sep 95 19:28 BST From: iwj10@thor.cam.ac.uk (Ian Jackson) To: debian-bugs@pixar.com Subject: Bug#1402: New version of pdpkg, new Packages file I finally got fed up with the deficiences of `pdpkg', and have written a new version. I have put it in project/experimental/npdpkg. You will also find there a file `nPackages' which is its output. I'd like people with recent versions of dpkg to try downloading it and using it with the Update option from the dselect menu (use Access to specify where it is) or using dpkg --merge-avail, and then try seeing if the dependency and conflict screens dselect produces make any kind of sense. Ian M.: the script takes two arguments. The first is the name of the `binary' directory containing the .deb files; the second is the name of an `noverrides' file in a slightly improved format - there is an example in project/experimental/npdpkg. There is also an `over2nover' script that converts one to the other. The script uses `find' to find the files, and then extracts the control information using dpkg-deb -I foo.deb control. It puts together the information from all the available files, and then overrides the Priority, Section and possibly Maintainer from the override file (the fields are in that order, separated by spaces or tabs). It's supposed to check that the .deb files are in the directories corresponding to their Section. It writes the new Packages file to stdout. It *doesn't* do a full syntax check on the Packages file which results. It would be good to do so, but that would require modifications to the dpkg source that I don't have time to make at the moment (the dpkg source tree contains the library for parsing Packages files, control files, &c). In any case, it's very hard to make new packages that are broken without noticing, because dpkg-deb will moan at build time. To integrate it into your nightly cron job you should write a script that has it build the new Packages file and then uses mv to do an atomic overwrite. Don't do rm -f Packages mv Packages.new Packages because then there's a moment when no Packages file is available, and by sod's law this will happen when a mirror site gets the directory listing. Instead, do mv -f Packages.new Packages rm -f binary/Packages.new mv -f binary/Packages.new binary/Packages rm -f ms-dos/Packages.new mv -f ms-dos/Packages.new ms-dos/Packages or whatever is appropriate. Don't forget the non-free and contrib directories. dselect would prefer the Packages file to be in the `binary' directory for each area (ie, /debian/binary/Packages, /debian/contrib/binary/Packages, /debian/non-free/binary/Packages); whether you put an additional copy of each just above the first is up to you. Please do put in a README saying that you need a different Packages file for each area. Ian. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Acknowledgement sent to iwj10@thor.cam.ac.uk (Ian Jackson) : Extra info received and forwarded. Full text available. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Information forwarded to debian-devel@pixar.com : Bug#1402 ; Package ftp site . Full text available. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Message received at debian-bugs: From cus.cam.ac.uk!iwj10 Wed Sep 20 16:45:46 1995 Return-Path: Received: from pixar.com by mongo.pixar.com with smtp (Smail3.1.28.1 #15) id m0svYpm-000G5gA; Wed, 20 Sep 95 16:45 PDT Received: from bootes.cus.cam.ac.uk by pixar.com with SMTP id AA03191 (5.67b/IDA-1.5 for debian-bugs-pipe@mongo.pixar.com); Wed, 20 Sep 1995 16:45:27 -0700 Received: by bootes.cus.cam.ac.uk (Smail-3.1.29.0 #36) id m0svYpd-000C0ZA; Thu, 21 Sep 95 00:45 BST Received: by chiark id (Debian /\oo/\ Smail3.1.29.1 #29.33); Wed, 20 Sep 95 23:10 BST Message-Id: Date: Wed, 20 Sep 95 23:10 BST From: Ian Jackson To: Debian bugs submission address Subject: `Packages' file doesn't contain `Provides' fields !!!! Precedence: air-mail Package: ftp site Version: Packages file dated 07:59 GMT, 19th September The Packages file on the FTP site does not contain any of the Provides fields from the packages. This completely breaks dselect's conflict/dependency system - many dependencies are left unsatisfied or are satisfied by only a few packages, because dselect doesn't see the Provides fields. This absolutely MUST be fixed WELL before the release, so that we can test dselect properly. In general it would appear that pdpkg, the program used to generate the file, discards data it does not understand, rather than preserving it. GRRRRR!!!! This will also break when packages start to use the new names for the related-package fields, namely Suggests (was Optional) and Recommends (was Recommended). Ian. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Acknowledgement sent to Ian Jackson : New bug report received and forwarded. Full text available. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Report forwarded to debian-devel@pixar.com : Bug#1402 ; Package ftp site . Full text available. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ian Jackson / iwj10@thor.cam.ac.uk , with the debian-bugs tracking mechanism This page last modified 07:43:01 GMT Wed 01 Nov