Bug#217081: apt-get: incomprehensible error message in some failure scenarios

[Matt Zimmerman <mdz@debian.org>]

retitle 217081 [apt-get] No status for virtual packages in "unmet dependencies" message
severity 217081 minor
thanks

On Wed, Oct 22, 2003 at 11:06:22AM -0500, Branden Robinson wrote:

> # apt-get -dy -o Debug::PkgProblemResolver=true dist-upgrade
> Reading Package Lists... Done
> Building Dependency Tree... Done
> You might want to run `apt-get -f install' to correct these.
> The following packages have unmet dependencies:
>   xaw3dg-dev: Depends: libxaw6-dev but it is not installed or
>                        libxaw-dev
> E: Unmet dependencies. Try using -f.
> 
> "or libxaw-dev" what?
> 
> There is a problem with libxaw-dev (it is a pure virtual package these days),
> but apt needs to say something more informative here.

            /* Show a summary of the target package if possible. In the case
               of virtual packages we show nothing */    
            pkgCache::PkgIterator Targ = Start.TargetPkg();
            if (Targ->ProvidesList == 0)
[...]
                     if (Targ->ProvidesList == 0)
                        out << _("but it is not installable");
                     else
                        out << _("but it is a virtual package");

It looks like it used to say "but it is a virtual package" (which isn't much
better), and now intentionally remains silent in this case.  My guess is
that the possible breakage for virtual packages is not as simple to
ascertain or describe.

-- 
 - mdz