Re: dpkg enhancements for better debconf support

[Wichert Akkerman <wichert@wiggy.net>]

Previously Joey Hess wrote:
> 1. Run config script under debconf before running postinst script of
>    package, passing in appropriate arguments. /usr/bin/debconf takes a
>    script to run under debconf and arguments to pass to the script as
>    parameters, and this is what it was designed for. 

Right.

> 2. Somehow work out which regular maintainer scripts expect to
>    communicate with debconf, and run them under /usr/bin/debconf.

[..]

>    This would probably be best implemented as a new control file
>    field, something like "Debconf-MaintScript: postinst postrm"

That sounds like a decent approach.

> 3. Add a new status field or state so that dpkg can track which packages
>    have had their config script run already (and which version of it) and
>    skip re-running the config script. This would merely cut down on
>    duplicate runs of the idempotent config scripts when a package is
>    preconfigured before dpkg runs.

We will also need a new error state, config-failed

Wichert.

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