Re: IMPORTANT: What can we do about the base package?

[Ian Jackson <ian@chiark.greenend.org.uk>]

Urgh, what a mess.

Editing /var/lib/dpkg/status won't work - dpkg keeps that data in-core
while it's working, and will overwrite your modifications.

Editing /var/lib/dpkg/info/base.list will work for the moment, I
think, so I suggest you do that.  Erase _all_ the files in it except
for one that is incorporated in base-files (say); then the next
base-files will make base disappear.

You'll have to do this in a postinst script; otherwise dpkg will
overwrite the data with its in-core copy (it reads all this data in
and updates it as and when necessary, and won't update it after
running postinsts).

This will stop working if dpkg is ever able to configure packages as
soon as possible.  Perhaps a special hook or hack can be made.

Ian.