Re: notifying the user about an incompatible upgrade

[Kapil Hari Paranjape <kapil@imsc.res.in>]

Hello,

On Mon, 04 Jun 2007, Eric Cooper wrote:
> What is the best way to notify the user or administrator when a new
> version of a package changes the format of a configuration file in a
> backwards-incompatible way?
> 
> These options occurred to me:
>   Try to upgrade the user's old configuration automatically.
>   Document it in NEWS.
>   Print a warning on stderr.
>   Use a debconf note.
>   Send an email to root or some other system user.

I don't think there is a "generic" answer. The answer would depend
on the kind of service provided by the package.

For example, if the package provides an important service and
automatic upgradation of the old config files is likely to break,
then it may even be a good idea to have the new package with a new
name. Then you could keep both packages maintained for a while with a
clear indication to the users that one is deprecated.

Regards,

Kapil.
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