[Eric Cooper] > Since there should be a unique replacement that old and new package > maintainer(s) agree on, I think the old package (the one being > replaced) should have the header. (Perhaps "Replaced-By:" ?) The whole point of the exercise was to get rid of dummy packages. Your proposal requires one. Which is not to say there is no merit in a package tag or field that says "this exists only to suck in dependencies, so when it has served this purpose, delete it at leisure". aptitude would presumably transfer the auto-install flag state from the dummy package to anything it depends on, then set the dummy package itself to the auto-installed state, for garbage collection.
Attachment:
signature.asc
Description: Digital signature