Re: Many executables across Debian's archives share basenames
On Thu, 05 Oct 2017, Kamil Cholewiński wrote:
> I wrote a short script that calls "apt-file find 'bin/'", filters
> results to include only stuff from /bin:/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin, and
> looks for basename clashes. Turns out, in Stretch, there are 97 hits.
> (If you also include /usr/games, 126.)
> (Of couse, I'm counting all packages, regardless of whether they specify
> "Conflicts:" or not, and regardless of whether the full name is shared,
> or just the basename.)
>
> For example, packages "389-ds-base" and "dmucs", both provie a command
> called "monitor". The former's command is located in /usr/sbin, the
> latter's in /usr/bin. Neither package conflicts with the other.
This is sounds like a bug in both packages; monitor is way too generic
to be a name.
Everything under point 1 sounds like a bug, and probably needs a
mass-bug filing (but that should be discussed on
debian-devel@lists.debian.org, not here.)
> 2. (I know this is crazy, unsupported, violates FHS, kills kittens, and
> I'm actually Asking For Trouble by doing this, but whatever.) I can't
> safely symlink /sbin to /bin, and I can't do a /usr -> / either.
Part of the goal for this is being tracked in
https://wiki.debian.org/UsrMerge, and is a release goal (and the
default).
There should only be a few packages with outstanding bugs in this case:
https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/pkgreport.cgi?tag=usrmerge;users=md@linux.it
In theory, you should be able to install usrmerge, and things should
"just work™".
--
Don Armstrong https://www.donarmstrong.com
Our days are precious, but we gladly see them going
If in their place we find a thing more precious growing
A rare, exotic plant, our gardener's heart delighting
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-- Frederick Rükert _Wisdom of the Brahmans_
[Hermann Hesse _Glass Bead Game_]
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