Transition from oldpackagename to newpackagename

[Ben Finney <ben+debian@benfinney.id.au>]

Howdy mentors,

When making a new release of a source package that renames one of its
binary packages, at <URL:http://wiki.debian.org/Renaming_a_Package> it
is asserted “most package managers (including AFAIK apt) do not know to
replace the old with the new one”.

Is that still true of APT? Or does APT now know that a new package
should be installed if it:

     Provides: oldname
     Replaces: oldname (<< fooversion)
     Conflicts: oldname (<< fooversion)

In other words: is the dummy transitional binary package still needed to
transition an existing binary package to a new name, or can we now
expect package managers to figure it out from the metadata?

-- 
 \      “[Entrenched media corporations will] maintain the status quo, |
  `\       or die trying. Either is better than actually WORKING for a |
_o__)                  living.” —ringsnake.livejournal.com, 2007-11-12 |
Ben Finney