Bug#248351: tetex-bin: update-texmf: cp -p gives an error
Hi Pablo,
Frank Küster <frank@kuesterei.ch> wrote:
>> I've been looking for the problem, and I solved it changing /usr/sbin/update-texmf
>> (i'm sorry; i have not diff file because I don't know how to build it).
>> My change is minor. Near the end of the file the next line appears:
>>
>> cp -a ${MD5SUMS} ${TMPTXMF}.md5sum.d
>>
>> I got the error:
>>
>> cp: preserving permissions for `/tmp/tmp.wRmhQA/texmfXZdf7VA.md5sum.d': invalid
>> argument
>>
>> So, i've just change the line with:
>>
>> cp -R ${MD5SUMS} ${TMPTXMF}.md5sum.d
>
> Hm. What kind of filesystem do you have on /tmp? It seems one cannot
> set permissions there, which is odd.
I've played a little: If I mount a floppy with MS-DOS FAT filesystem and
try to do a "cp -a" on it, even as root, I get the same error
message. Therefore it seems as if this could be the cause - do you
indeed use an unusual filesystem for /tmp? If you don't remember, the
output of "mount" would probably help.
If this is the case, I'm confused. I think most programs in Debian,
except those that are specifically developped to handle external
filesystems, rely on being able to do "ordinary" stuff that used to work
on every UNIX - e.g. setting permissions.
On the other hand, I don't see that this is really required by any
policy or the like - in fact the Debian Policy only contains
requirements for developers, not for users and their choice of
filesystem.
Well, in this particular case, I think the permission stuff is not
really necessary. But I would like to sort this out more
generally. Therefore I'd be glad if you would tell us which filesystem
you use, and why.
Regards, Frank
--
Frank Küster, Biozentrum der Univ. Basel
Abt. Biophysikalische Chemie
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