Re: packages' config scripts creating files, chroots and buildds.

[Frans Pop <elendil@planet.nl>]

>    o Is the fact that the config script is run on the host a bug in
>      apt-get, dpkg, debconf, or apt-utils?

dpkg-preconfigure is part of the debconf package, and gets called using 
the following configuration setting:
/etc/apt/apt.conf.d/70debconf:
DPkg::Pre-Install-Pkgs {"/usr/sbin/dpkg-preconfigure --apt || true";};

This is called from apt (apt-pkg/deb/dpkgpm.cc), so it seems the failure 
to run it in the chroot is there:
597:   if (RunScriptsWithPkgs("DPkg::Pre-Install-Pkgs") == false)

RunScriptsWithPkgs (also in dpkgpm.cc) uses DPkg::Tools::Options::, so 
maybe you can do something with that, although I doubt it as 
dpkg-preconfigure itself does not have any options to make it run in a 
different root.

>    o Is this whole idea that you can cause apt-get and dpkg to act on a
>       root other than / doomed to failure to begin with?

There may be some truth in that too :-)
At least, it sounds like this is not something that has been tested very 
much and could have other issues.

HTH,
FJP