Bug#2834: desect loses state if it can't find a pre-dependancy

[Ian Jackson <ian@chiark.chu.cam.ac.uk>]

Chris Fearnley writes ("Re: Bug#2834: desect loses state if it can't find a pre-dependancy"):
...
> No, I deleted the aout version from the tree I told dselect about.
> Only the elf version was there.  Somehow dselect felt it needed libc4
> (someone must have a predependancy to it?)

Your Packages file probably told it that the dpkg in the tree was the
a.out one, so dselect tried to install it.

>   but I had put that package
> on hold. So dselect failed and worse forgot my access methods.

I'm not sure I believe you about the access methods.  The [I]install
script only _reads_ the file which contains the access method
information, so it couldn't possibly corrupt it.  The only thing I can
think of which could have done this is you unwittingly upgrading to a
dpkg which didn't understand the same format of
/var/lib/dpkg/methods/<whatever>.

Ian.