Bug#408228: cdebconf: uninstallable under some conditions because of dependancy cycle

[Lucas Nussbaum <lucas@lucas-nussbaum.net>]

Package: cdebconf
Version: 0.108
Severity: important
Usertags: grid5000 piuparts

Hi,

During a piuparts run over all the packages in etch, I ran into a
problem with your package:
  Reading package lists...
  Building dependency tree...
  The following extra packages will be installed:
    defoma file fontconfig fontconfig-config libatk1.0-0 libcairo-directfb2
    libcairo2 libdb4.4 libdebian-installer4 libdirectfb-0.9-25 libexpat1
    libfontconfig1 libfreetype6 libgdbm3 libglib2.0-0 libgtk-directfb-2.0-0
    libgtk2.0-0 libgtk2.0-common libjpeg62 libmagic1 libnewt0.52 libpango1.0-0
    libpango1.0-common libpng12-0 libpopt0 libsysfs2 libtextwrap1 libtiff4
    libx11-6 libx11-data libxau6 libxcursor1 libxdmcp6 libxext6 libxfixes3
    libxft2 libxi6 libxinerama1 libxrandr2 libxrender1 perl perl-modules
    ttf-dejavu ucf whiptail x11-common
  Suggested packages:
    defoma-doc psfontmgr x-ttcidfont-conf dfontmgr libfreetype6-dev
    ttf-kochi-gothic ttf-kochi-mincho ttf-thryomanes ttf-baekmuk
    ttf-arphic-gbsn00lp ttf-arphic-bsmi00lp ttf-arphic-gkai00mp
    ttf-arphic-bkai00mp libterm-readline-gnu-perl libterm-readline-perl-perl
  Recommended packages:
    libft-perl libatk1.0-data libglib2.0-data hicolor-icon-theme libgtk2.0-bin
    libfribidi0 perl-doc debconf-utils
  The following NEW packages will be installed:
    cdebconf defoma file fontconfig fontconfig-config libatk1.0-0
    libcairo-directfb2 libcairo2 libdb4.4 libdebian-installer4
    libdirectfb-0.9-25 libexpat1 libfontconfig1 libfreetype6 libgdbm3
    libglib2.0-0 libgtk-directfb-2.0-0 libgtk2.0-0 libgtk2.0-common libjpeg62
    libmagic1 libnewt0.52 libpango1.0-0 libpango1.0-common libpng12-0 libpopt0
    libsysfs2 libtextwrap1 libtiff4 libx11-6 libx11-data libxau6 libxcursor1
    libxdmcp6 libxext6 libxfixes3 libxft2 libxi6 libxinerama1 libxrandr2
    libxrender1 perl perl-modules ttf-dejavu ucf whiptail x11-common
  0 upgraded, 47 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
  Need to get 22.6MB of archives.
[...]
  E: Couldn't configure pre-depend x11-common for libxft2, probably a dependency cycle.

I could reproduce it outside piuparts. If debconf is not installed, and you try to install cdebconf, you run into a problem:
cdebconf depends on libxft2
libxft2 pre-depends on x11-common
x11-common pre-depends on debconf | debconf-2.0

For some reason, apt doesn't understand that it can solve this by installing first debconf, then x11-common, then cdebconf...
-- 
| Lucas Nussbaum
| lucas@lucas-nussbaum.net   http://www.lucas-nussbaum.net/ |
| jabber: lucas@nussbaum.fr             GPG: 1024D/023B3F4F |