Re: renaming a library package (advice and sanity check)
On Sat, 15 Jan 2005, Kevin B. McCarty wrote:
> Santiago Vila wrote:
>
> > This way, "apt-get upgrade" will install libvips-doc without requiring
> > "apt-get dist-upgrade", and this will be done automatically and
> > without user intervention,
>
> Are you certain of that? My understanding is that apt-get upgrade will
> neither remove current packages nor install new ones, only upgrade
> packages that can otherwise be upgraded. So "apt-get upgrade" will just
> output something like "libvips7.10-doc is being held back" -- it will
> not upgrade libvips7.10-doc to the dummy package nor will it install the
> new libvips-doc package. "apt-get dist-upgrade" would still be required
> for that.
Oops, you are right. Sorry.
The point I was trying to make is that a libvips-doc which conflicts
and replaces libvips7.10-doc would force the removal of libvips7.10-doc
when doing "apt-get dist-upgrade", but a libvips-doc which only
conflicts and replaces the non-dummy versions of libvips7.10-doc
would make the new package to be installed, and the old package
to be upgraded to its dummy version.
Removing a package when doing "apt-get dist-upgrade" is something I
believe people have to think more carefully than installing new
packages. If we can delay the removal of the package to the time the
user does deborphan, I think there is a little gain in smoothness
for the upgrade.
What is a real pity is that dpkg does not have a field like this:
Package: libvips-doc
Previously-Known-As: libvips7.10-doc
It would save us the trouble of conflicts, replaces, provides and
dummy packages alltogether.
Reply to: