Bug#544481: diff should not be an essential package
On 2009-09-01 08:52:26 +0200, Raphael Hertzog wrote:
> IMO it's apt that simply mixes the Essential: flag read from different
> sources, a quick check makes it obvious:
OK, this is probably the reason (I confirm that dpkg removes diff,
and the fact I have the stable source, where diff is essential).
> I also fail to see why this bug would be critical, the set of essential
> packages doesn't change often and having to keep around the transitional
> package is not a big deal.
I thought that dpkg was corrupting some database internally under
some conditions. The message is very misleading, and I would have
never thought that apt would use the Essential flag from other
sources (this seems completely unnatural to me and this is the
first time I see something like that). BTW, if this bug cannot be
fixed now, perhaps in the mean time, the warning message could be
improved in order to be less misleading (e.g. saying that this
warning may be incorrect if there are other sources).
--
Vincent Lefèvre <vincent@vinc17.org> - Web: <http://www.vinc17.org/>
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Work: CR INRIA - computer arithmetic / Arénaire project (LIP, ENS-Lyon)
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