Bug#50341: libc6 installs binary packages: please split.

[Fabrizio Polacco <fab@prosa.it>]

Package: libc6
Version: 2.1.2-6
Severity: important

Hi,
the problem I am trying to solve here is not a simple one.
First let's state the facts, then let's discuss.

libc6 ships with several binary programs inthe same .deb with the libraries,
which by itselfs violates policy:
     4.3.5th: 
     If your package has some run-time support programs which use the
     shared library you must _not_ put them in the shared library package.
     If you do that then you won't be able to install several versions of
     the shared library without getting filename clashes. Instead, either
     create a third package for the runtime binaries (this package might
     typically be named `<libraryname>-runtime'--note the absence of the
     <soname> in the package name) or if the development package is small
     include them in there.

Although there are others, the programs I'm talking about are:
/usr/bin/db_archive
/usr/bin/db_checkpoint
/usr/bin/db_deadlock
/usr/bin/db_dump
/usr/bin/db_dump185
/usr/bin/db_load
/usr/bin/db_printlog
/usr/bin/db_recover
/usr/bin/db_stat
which are the utilities to manipulate Berkeley DB v2 files.

Berkeley DB v2, in its original upstream version, is shipped in packages 
like libdb2, libdb2.6 and libdb2.7, which represent the old version, the 
"upstream-stable" version and the "upstream-beta" version.
All these different versions are splitted in a huge number of packages,
including  libdb2*-util which includes the same binaries above, exept
db_printlog, which is a debugging utility and should be shipped with a 
-dev or -dbg package.

libc6 ships with a _forked_ version of the upstream package.
libc6 is marked "required".
Therefore the original upstream packages cannot anymore be installed on 
potato systems.

My first suggestion would be to ask for moving those programs into a 
libc6-db2-utils package that I can conflict and replace.

What's your opinion?

thanx,
fab

-- System Information
Debian Release: potato
Kernel Version: Linux polacco 2.0.36 #1 Thu Jan 28 21:30:16 EET 1999 i686 unknown

Versions of the packages libc6 depends on:
ii  ldso            1.9.11-3       The Linux dynamic linker, library and utilit

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