Bug#409284: apt: Ignores the contents of the Release file and pulls Packages.gz out of the hat

[Eddy Petrișor <eddy.petrisor@gmail.com>]

Hello,

More than a year ago, I have reported this bug. I got just an incomplete 
and unsatisfactory reply.

I have requested more information, and I still believe this bug is 
really important since apt doesn't respect the contents of the Releases 
file and, more severily, it fails due to that.

It would have been acceptable if there was a fallback to the regular 
Packages file (heck, probably I wouldn't have had observed the 
behaviour, if the fallback existed).


Could somebody at least answer my lat email?
> Otavio Salvador wrote:
> > Eddy Petrișor <eddy.petrisor@gmail.com> writes:
> >
> > > When trying to apt-get update (true for aptitude update, too)
> > > - apt tries to fetch a Packages.gz file although the Release file does
> > >   not specify the existance of such a file
> > > - apt fails to update (without even falling back to the file specified
> > >   in the Release file)
> >
> > If you wish that APT gets the uncompressed Packages file, you should
> > then use the file:/// protocol instead of http or ftp. IIRC it'll
> > behaves like you wish.
>
> Huh? Are you implying that this behaviour is correct?
>
> Also, note that you are suggesting a resolution that is probably nor
> applicable/possible nor desired in most cases (running a local mirror -
> think pbuilder chroots, or other chroots for that matter).
>
> More than that, I think I remember that Woody used to work with flat
> Packages files.


TIA

--
Regards,
EddyP
=============================================
"Imagination is more important than knowledge" A.Einstein