Bug#42052: PROPOSAL] /var/mail and /var/spool/mail

[cwitty@newtonlabs.com (Carl R. Witty)]

Anthony Towns <aj@azure.humbug.org.au> writes:

> --ncSAzJYg3Aa9+CRW
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> On Tue, Aug 03, 1999 at 08:32:57AM -0700, Joseph Carter wrote:
> > > I second this proposal, but please change the word "dependency"
> > > by "Pre-Dependency" (otherwise I would formally object ;-).
> > > Rationale: base-files (>=whatever) must be unpacked and *configured*
> > > before *any* package using /var/mail is *unpacked*, because the symlink
> > > /var/mail -> /var/spool/mail will be handled in base-files' postinst.
> > Obviously and I support this addition.
> 
> I'm confused. No packages install things into /var/spool/mail or /var/mail
> directly, do they? Nor can I see why they'd want to use this as part of
> their preinst or even postinst. Neither exim nor mutt include /var/anything
> in their dpkg -L output.
> 
> Why does /var/mail have to exist before those packages are unpacked?

Others have explained that this is probably not necessary for MTA's.
However, it still seems necessary for MUA's.  On a multi-user system,
any unpacked MUA could possibly get executed while the package is
unconfigured, and before base-files is configured.

Carl Witty
cwitty@newtonlabs.com