Bug#538399: /usr/bin/apt-get: fails to upgrade dependencies

[Goswin von Brederlow <goswin-v-b@web.de>]

Michal Suchanek <hramrach@centrum.cz> writes:

> Package: apt
> Version: 0.7.21
> Severity: important
> File: /usr/bin/apt-get
>
>
> This is a mojor problem. Unless you always use dist-upgrade (as opposed
> to only installing security upgrades) and always use only one repository
> you will likely get in this situation.
>
> You have two packages - typically libA and libA-dev where libA-dev
> requires exact version of libA. And you try to install pacakge B that
> requires a newer vesion of libA. Apt fails to do that.
>
> # ia32-apt-get  install xinput/unstable
> Reading package lists... Done
> Building dependency tree       
> Reading state information... Done
> Selected version 1.4.2-1 (Debian:unstable) for xinput
> 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.
> The following information may help to resolve the situation:
>
> The following packages have unmet dependencies:
>   xinput: Depends: libxi6 (>= 2:1.2.0) but 2:1.1.4-1 is to be installed
> E: Broken packages
> # ia32-aptitude  install
> xinput/unstable
> Reading package lists... Done
> Building dependency tree       
> Reading state information... Done
> Reading extended state information      
> Initializing package states... Done
> Writing extended state information... Done
> The following packages are BROKEN:
>   xinput 
> 0 packages upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 25 not upgraded.
> Need to get 16.0kB of archives. After unpacking 77.8kB will be used.
> The following packages have unmet dependencies:
>   xinput: Depends: libxi6 (>= 2:1.2.0) but 2:1.1.4-1 is installed.
> The following actions will resolve these dependencies:
>
> Upgrade the following packages:
> libxi-dev [2:1.1.4-1 (stable, testing, now) -> 2:1.2.1-2 (unstable)]
> libxi6 [2:1.1.4-1 (stable, testing, now) -> 2:1.2.1-2 (unstable)]
>
> Score is -10
>
> Accept this solution? [Y/n/q/?] 


> APT::Default-Release "lenny";

I believe that behaviour is as expected.

ia32-apt-get  install xinput/unstable

Means that you override the default release for *only* xinput and all
other packages remain with lenny pinned highest. apt-get then refuses
to install a package that is not pinned highest (the lenny package in
your case).

Now, aptitude on the other hand happily breaks the pining restrictions
and installs the unstable version that has a lower pin than the stable
version. Something I would even consider a bug.


What you should do is

ia32-apt-get -t sid install xinput
or
ia32-apt-get -t unstable install xinput

One of the two works the other doesn't. -t is a bit picky iirc.

MfG
        Goswin