Possible dpkg database changes (was Re: Undeclared dependencies on menu)
--On Mon, May 18, 1998 8:25 pm +0200 "Remco Blaakmeer"
<remco@blaakmeer.student.utwente.nl> wrote:
> On Wed, 13 May 1998, Joey Hess wrote:
>
>> Bob Hilliard wrote:
>> > While testing the install disks v2.0.6, menu failed to install
>> > due to unsatisfied dependencies. (This is the subject of another
>> > message).
>> >
>> > Since menu was not configured, man-db, psmisc, bc, and dc could
not
>> > be configured because the postinst called update-menu, resulting in
>> > the following error message:
>> >
>> > : update-menus: error in loading shared libraries
>> > : libstdc++.so.2.7.2: cannot open shared object file: No such file or
>> > : directory
>> >
>> > None of these packages declare a dependency on menu. I believe
>> > that policy should require that a package must declare a dependency on
>> > any non-required utility used by the maintainer scripts, or the
>> > scripts should be designed not to fail if such a utility is not
>> > available.
>> >
>> > Should a bug be filed against these four packages? I am sure
>> > there are many other packages that use update-menu in their postinsts
>> > and do not declare a dependency on menu.
>>
>> Hundreds of packages use menu. The calls to menu are guarded by a test to
>> see if menu is installed:
>>
>> if [ -x /usr/bin/update-menus ]; then
>> /usr/bin/update-menus
>> fi
>>
>> Anything using such a test does not have to depend on the command inside
the
>> if statement, as it will install just fine without it.
>
> But it may not install 'just fine' if the command is in an unconfigured
> state.
It seems to me that the correct form for this test is
if [ dpkg --configured menu ]
I.e. we need a reentrant dpkg fast enough to perform checks like this. Or,
possible separate out the reentrant portions into 'dpkg-check'.
This would imply, to me, that we move the available list, and associated
files into a fast DB format. Which has seemed to be to be sensible for a
while anyway - dpkg -l takes far too long for my liking..
Or have I just said something really dumb?
Jules
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