Bug#2678: 0.93R6 won't take libc5

[shields@crosslink.net (Michael Shields)]

Package: libc5
Version: 5.2.18-2

I'm trying to make sure a 0.93R6 system is incrementally upgradable to 1.1.
I would think that all you need to do is install ld.so and libc5, and make
sure the kernel supports ELF, and you'll be able to use the new binary
packages.  I would like to do this now, running a mostly-stable system with
some additions and upgrades from the development tree.

However, it doesn't actually work -- libc5 requires ld.so >=1.7.14-2, and
uses Pre-Depends: to enforce that, and therefore requires dpkg to support
Pre-Depends: by using dpkg --assert-support-predepends, but the dpkg that
comes with 0.93R6, 1.0.17, doesn't support predepends.

The error message for this is not very clear:

: (Reading database ... 8652 files and directories currently installed.)
: Unpacking libc5 (from libc5-5.2.18-2.deb) ...
: dpkg: unknown option --assert-support-predepends
:
: Type dpkg --help for help about installing and deinstalling packages;
: Use dselect for user-friendly package management;
: Type dpkg -Dhelp for a list of dpkg debug flag values;
: Type dpkg --force-help for a list of forcing options;
: Type dpkg-deb --help for help about manipulating *.deb files.
: dpkg: error processing libc5-5.2.18-2.deb (--install):
:  subprocess pre-installation script returned error exit status 2
: Errors were encountered while processing:
:  libc5-5.2.18-2.deb

One answer is for preinst to run dpkg --assort-support-predepends and throw
away the error message, printing an error of its own instead.  A more
automated answer, and probably a better one, would be to depend on dpkg
=>1.1.

--
Shields, CrossLink.