Bug#234091: Fresh apache installs has no defaults
Package: apache
Version: 1.3.29.0.1-5
Severity: important
The setup script of apache is dainbramaged. It does not provide any
debconf defaults, which means that if a user just hits enter on any of the
questions, he will end up with a broken apache.conf which will cause
apache to fail to start, and dpkg to abort with the package unconfigured.
Furthermore, the package cannot be reconfigured properly after this:
running dpkg --configure --pending will skip over some questions, with the
result that apache.conf is STILL broken afterwards, and dpkg aborts again.
Also, the default apache.conf shipped with the package depends on some
apache modules which the user is not informed about, so if the user fails
to select those modules in debconf, apache.conf will contain directives
that apache can't understand ('cos the module is not loaded). So dpkg will
abort because apache won't start, and you can't reconfigure it unless you
purge the package and re-install or fix apache.conf by hand.
This is very broken behaviour. Please fix the debconf templates so that
apache comes with sane defaults that the user can tweak later if he
wishes, AFTER the package is installed and configured by dpkg, so that he
doesn't get stuck in a state where apache must be purged and re-installed
in order to get anywhere useful.
T
--
Music critic: "That's an imitation fugue!"
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