Re: dpkg should recommend dselect

[Josip Rodin <joy@gkvk.hr>]

On Sat, Aug 10, 2002 at 03:08:14AM +1000, Glenn McGrath wrote:
> > > Technically it shouldnt be a dependency, its a only a dependency to
> > > protect stupid people.
> > 
> > No. Someone can be using dselect to run a distribution upgrade and there
> > is a possibility a random package will break it and leave the user with
> > new dpkg installed and new dselect not installed, thus disabling them
> > from upgrading further without some kind of manual intervention.
> 
> If dpkg Recommends: dselect, then when a user upgrades the old dpkg
> package using the old dselect, the old dselect will see that the new dpkg
> Recommends: dselect, and the old dselect will mark the new dselect package
> to be installed.
> 
> For any breakage to happen the user would have to manually unselect the
> dselect package.

Once again, no. The old dselect will select the new dselect package, but it
can still fail to get it installed and succeed to install the new dpkg at
the same time. Given upgrades can be very large, this possibility is not
very remote, even. At that moment, the user would be left with the old
dselect running but without the files for the methods, so they couldn't do
anything with it any longer.

-- 
     2. That which causes joy or happiness.