Bug#194601: some actual error messages from dselect/apt/dpkg

[Jonathan Walther <krooger@debian.org>]

Here are some error message.

To generate them, I removed both "/var/lib/dpkg/available" and
"/var/cache/apt/available".  Then I ran dselect and chose to "update"
the packages list.  Then I chose "select".  Often I get a straight
segfault, but I also get messages like this:

dselect: parse error, in file `/var/lib/dpkg/available' near line 53510
package `chntpw':
newline in field name `?'

When I get this type of message, it leaps around the available file, but
invariably it is the Architecture: field that is scribbled over with
binary garbage.

Here, I got the same type of error again when trying an install
(miraculously I got through a "select" screen)

(Reading database ... 139327 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to replace bsdutils 1:2.11z-2 (using
.../bsdutils_1%3a2.11z-4_i386.deb) ...
Unpacking replacement bsdutils ...
dpkg: parse error, in file `/var/lib/dpkg/available' near line 170405
package `partimage-server':
newline in field name `ü>'
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (2)

Finally, here is the other class of error I am getting, I got this one
when I redid the above procedure and tried to upgrade my system:

After unpacking 3857kB disk space will be freed.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n] 
Preconfiguring packages ...
dpkg: parse error, in file `/var/lib/dpkg/available' near line 119845
package `libima-dbi-perl':
Configured-Version for package with inappropriate Status
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (2)

When I checked the status file, there was no binary junk, so if it is
corrupted, it is more subtle than the corruption that is happening to
the "available" file.

Jonathan

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