Bug#300507: 'apt-get' vague errors: "This may mean ... or if ..."
Package: apt
Version: 0.5.28.5
Severity: wishlist
Users who run 'unstable' often see hemming and hawing error messages
when upgrading, particularly these paragraphs (caps added for emphasis):
Some packages could not be installed. This MAY mean that you have
requested an impossible situation OR IF you are using the unstable
distribution THAT some required packages have not YET been created
OR been moved out of Incoming.
SINCE you only requested a single operation it is extremely LIKELY that
the package is simply not installable AND a bug report against
that package SHOULD be filed.
...this text asks users to find out (or guess) the state of their system,
(that is, whether they're running 'unstable' or not), and from that
deduce which of various causes are probable.
I believe that most Debian systems already contain enough information
for 'apt-get' itself to determine whether the system is 'unstable' or
not.
For the systems where this can be reliably ascertained, it would be
better if 'apt-get' quietly made the right deduction then
displayed a more specific error message.
For example, if 'apt-get' knows the system is running 'stable',
the above two paragraphs could be shortened to:
Some packages could not be installed. It is likely that the
package is not installable and a bug report against that
package should be filed.
...and so forth with the other possible errors, depending on
the circumstances.
-- Package-specific info:
-- System Information:
Debian Release: 3.1
APT prefers unstable
APT policy: (500, 'unstable'), (1, 'experimental')
Architecture: i386 (i686)
Kernel: Linux 2.6.9-1-686
Locale: LANG=C, LC_CTYPE=C (charmap=ANSI_X3.4-1968) (ignored: LC_ALL set to C)
Versions of packages apt depends on:
ii libc6 2.3.2.ds1-20 GNU C Library: Shared libraries an
ii libgcc1 1:3.4.3-12 GCC support library
ii libstdc++5 1:3.3.5-12 The GNU Standard C++ Library v3
-- no debconf information
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