possible issues with downgrading and *.md5sums (was: Bug#1065022: libglib2.0-0t64: t64 transition breaks the systems)
[to debian-devel only]
On 2024-03-01 10:13:18 +0100, Helmut Grohne wrote:
> On Thu, Feb 29, 2024 at 06:53:56AM +0100, Paul Gevers wrote:
> > Well, officially downgrading isn't supported (although it typically works)
> > *and* losing files is one of the problems of our merged-/usr solution (see
> > [1]). I *suspect* this might be the cause. We're working hard (well, helmut
> > is) to protect us and our users from loosing files on upgrades. We don't
> > protect against downgrades.
>
> As much as we like blaming all lost files on the /usr-move, this is not
> one them. If you are downgrading from to a package that formerly has
> been replaced, you always have lost files and you always had to
> reinstall the package.
In the past, when I asked why downgrading wasn't supported, i.e. the
possible issues with downgrading, I was answered something about the
files handled by maintainer scripts, which is fairly understandable
(BTW, this is mentioned at [1], with an example). But no documented
issues with the files directly provided by the packages, like library
files (from what I could see about the complaints). Indeed, I thought
that the presence of /var/lib/dpkg/info/*.md5sums would be sufficient
to detect issues. So, what's the point of these files?
[1] https://wiki.debian.org/MaintainerScripts
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Vincent Lefèvre <vincent@vinc17.net> - Web: <https://www.vinc17.net/>
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