"Christoph Haas" <haas@debian.org> wrote in message [🔎] 20060519211514.GA5095@workaround.org">news:[🔎] 20060519211514.GA5095@workaround.org...
I think you are closer to the real solution. In #debian-devel people just suggested that a "B: depends on A" is the only thing the transitional package needs. This way both will be installed if just B was installed. And after the next stable release B can safely be removed because users of B will have A installed, too.
The only flaw with that system is that the translitional package would stay on the system forever, unless the user explicitly removes it. But there is no good working solution that does not have that propery that I am aware of.