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Re: Fwd: "NotAutomatic: yes" does not affect source packages



On Wed, Jun 28, 2023 at 09:04:26AM +0200, Christof Warlich wrote:
> Can anyone tell why source packages are not treated the same as binary
> packages for “NotAutomatic: yes” repos? It breaks the expectation that
> you always get the corresponding sources for a binary package.

Note that you expectation is incorrect. The man page reads:

| [apt-get source] will then find and download into the current
| directory the newest available version of that source package

So you don't always get the corresponding sources for a binary
package but the newest, which in your case happens to be the one
from backports. Works as documented…

The sentence goes on:

| while respecting the default release, set with the option
| APT::Default-Release, the -t option or per package with
| the pkg/release syntax, if possible.

That is how you would override apts choice for a binary package, too,
as you have already found out.


This behaviour was chosen long before I came onto the scene, but I
suppose the idea is that in general most people would want pkg/newest
by default. Also, the APT::Default-Release setting was more common
in the old days I think.


Anyway, I am not sure respecting pinning is a good idea for source.
It isn't an automatic action in the sense that you aren't suddenly
installing a package with a different testing/support status.

You "just" get a bunch of files onto your system you have to post-
process before you can even dream about installing the resulting
package. Chances are high if you go to that trouble, you want the
latest and greatest – which is also why the command happily advertises
the VCS of a package which can include completely unreleased things.


And lastly, NotAutomatic and especially ButAutomaticUpgrades require
that you know which version of a package is installed. Which version
of a source package is installed if some of its binaries are not
installed and some are version 1 and some are version 2 ? You have
some idea if 'apt-get source' was started with a binary package, but
if a source package is given…


Best regards

David Kalnischkies

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