Re: How to use remove-on-upgrade to remove a configuration file?

[Ludovic Rousseau <ludovic.rousseau@free.fr>]

Hello Niels,

Le 08/08/2021 à 09:09, Niels Thykier a écrit :
> Ludovic Rousseau:
> > Hello,
> >
> > I am fixing Debian bug #990154.
> >
> > After some work I am able to remove the obsolete conf file using:
> > rm_conffile /etc/reader.conf.d/0comments 1.9.3-2~ pcscd
> > in debian/pcscd.maintscript
> >
> > Nice.
> > Now I would like to use the method documented in deb-conffiles
> > https://manpages.debian.org/unstable/dpkg-dev/deb-conffiles.5.en.html
> >
> > I would need to add in the DEBIAN/conffiles of the pcscd package the line:
> > remove-on-upgrade /etc/reader.conf.d/0comments
> >
> > But how do I generate a .deb package with this extra line?
> > What is the magic dh command or file to do that?
> > Where is it documented?
> >
> > I tried to use a file debian/pcscd.conffiles but this file is no more
> > used with debhelper version 12
> > https://manpages.debian.org/buster/debhelper/dh_installdeb.1.en.html
> >
> > I searched for occurrences of "remove-on-upgrade" in
> > https://codesearch.debian.net/ but I only find references to dpkg source
> > code.
> > No Debian package is using or has used "remove-on-upgrade"?
> >
> > Thanks
>
> Hi Ludovic,
>
> You cannot use that feature yet as it would break during upgrade. The
> dpkg version in stable does not support the feature.  Which is also why
> there is no debhelper feature to support it yet.

OK. I was searching for something that does not (yet) exist :-)

My plan was to upload the package in Bullseye +1 so after the (soon) release of Bullseye.
Bullseye will then be the new stable and will have dpkg 1.20.9. So that should work. No?

Thanks

--
Dr. Ludovic Rousseau