Bug#944968: popularity-contest: Program accesses internal dpkg database

[Guillem Jover <guillem@debian.org>]

Source: popularity-contest
Source-Version: 1.69
Severity: important
User: debian-dpkg@lists.debian.org
Usertags: dpkg-db-access-blocker

Hi!

This package contains the «popularity-contest» program, which directly
accesses the dpkg internal database, instead of using one of the public
interfaces provided by dpkg.

The program should stop reading the files list files, and switched to
use something like:

  «dpkg-query \
    --showformat 'Package: ${Package}\nFiles:\n${db-fsys:Files}\n' \
    --show»

to get them.


This is a problem for several reasons, because even though the layout and
format of the dpkg database is administrator friendly, and it is expected
that those might need to mess with it, in case of emergency, this
“interface” does not extend to other programs besides the dpkg suite of
tools. The admindir can also be configured differently at dpkg build or
run-time. And finally, the contents and its format, will be changing in
the near future.

Thanks,
Guillem