Debugging a strange dpkg error message

[Frank Küster <frank@debian.org>]

Hi,

while working on some packages for a new, beta upstream version of teTeX
I got a strange dpkg error message. I changed some of the packaging
internals, but am still using dh_builddeb. Now with the new version, I
get:

# dpkg --debug=3111 --install /var/cache/apt/archives/tetex-extra_2.96.5.20040711-4_all.deb 
D000010: ensure_pathname_nonexisting `/var/lib/dpkg/tmp.ci'
(Reading database ... 71312 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking tetex-extra (from .../tetex-extra_2.96.5.20040711-4_all.deb) ...
D000001: process_archive oldversionstatus=not installed
mkdir: cannot create directory `': No such file or directory
dpkg: error processing /var/cache/apt/archives/tetex-extra_2.96.5.20040711-4_all.deb (--install):
 subprocess pre-installation script returned error exit status 1
D000010: ensure_pathname_nonexisting `/var/lib/dpkg/tmp.ci'
D000010: ensure_pathname_nonexisting running rm -rf
D000010: ensure_pathname_nonexisting `/var/lib/dpkg/reassemble.deb'
Errors were encountered while processing:
 /var/cache/apt/archives/tetex-extra_2.96.5.20040711-4_all.deb

The debugging options don't help much here - other packages can be
successfully installed and just have 

Unpacking replacement tetex-base ...

or the like. What might be the reason for this - it is reproducible with
a new run of "fakeroot debian/rules binary"?

Regards, Frank
-- 
Frank Küster
Inst. f. Biochemie der Univ. Zürich
Debian Developer