Re: dpkg-ftp troubles

[Kevin Dalley <kevin@aimnet.com>]

Try replacing cmpvers in /usr/lib/dpkg/methods/ftp/install with the
following function.  While the maintainer has not yet blessed this
change, it seems to work for me.

# compare two versions (taken from dpkg docs)
sub cmpvers {
    ($a,$b) = @_;
    my ($cm, $ad, $bd);
    if( defined($a) && !defined($b)) { return 1; }
    if(!defined($a) && !defined($b)) { return 0; }
    if(!defined($a) &&  defined($b)) { return -1; }
    do {
        $a =~ s/^\D*//; $ad= $&; $ad =~ s/\W/ /g;
        $b =~ s/^\D*//; $bd= $&; $bd =~ s/\W/ /g;
        $cm = $ad cmp $bd;  return $cm if $cm;
        $a =~ s/^\d*//; $ad= $&;
        $b =~ s/^\d*//; $bd= $&;
        $cm = $ad cmp $bd;  return $cm if $cm;
    } while (length($a) && length($b));
    return length($a) cmp length($b);
}


>>>>> "Joe" == Joe Reinhardt <jmr@kilimanjaro.radiology.uiowa.edu> writes:

> I am having trouble with dpkg-ftp 1.4.0.  I repeatedly get this error
> when trying to install:

> Processing status file...

> Processing Package files...
>  unstable...
> Argument "" isn't numeric in ncmp at /usr/lib/dpkg/methods/ftp/install
> line 99,
>         <PKGFILE> chunk 1441 (#1)
> Argument "" isn't numeric in ncmp at /usr/lib/dpkg/methods/ftp/install
> line 99, <PKGFILE> chunk 1441.
>  non-free...
>  contrib...

> Any ideas?

> -- 
> Joe Reinhardt                        Division of Physiologic Imaging
> joe-reinhardt@uiowa.edu              Department of Radiology, JPP-3960
> Telephone: 319-353-7258              University of Iowa College of Medicine
> FAX:       319-356-1503              200 Hawkins Drive, Iowa City, IA  52242