Bug#548661: dpkg: Override package dependencies

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

Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca> writes:

>>> Clearly, ignoring such constraints is risky business (not like ignoring
>>> "recommends" constraints), so you'd want to force the user to think hard
>>> before doing so, and you'd only let her ignore specific constraints,
>>> you might ask for confirmation before adding such an ignore-constraint
>>> to the list of ignored constraints, and you might even query the user
>>> every once in a while to make sure she still wants to keep those
>>> ignore-constraints.
>
>> Or simply not implement your request because we will never be happy to
>> have misleading bug reports because the user has overriden a dependency
>> that he shouldn't have.
>
> I'd expect this info to be at the very forefront of the data provided by
> `reportbug' and to elicit the same kind of responses as the "tainted"
> bit of the kernel, i.e. "fix this dependency and then come back".
> Even reportbug could refuse to send the report before you get rid of
> this override rule.
>
>> And we already have --force-depends for temporary workarounds.
>
> [ Note that I've reassigned this but to `apt'. ]
> I don't think any of the APT tools offers a "--force-depends".
> And rightly so: it would be too blunt a tool, so a subsequent "aptitude
> upgrade" would bite you right back, with a vengeance (at least that's
> what happens if you use "dpkg --force-depends").  It seems difficult
> to make it work differently: we need to store somewhere the list of
> exceptions.  Now, I'd be happy with just new arguments to aptitude
> of the form --ignore-depend=<from>,<to>, and then store the list of
> ignored dependencies somewhere in a file of mine, and then write
> a little script around `aptitude' to pass those parameters.  But I think
> it'd be better for aptitude to manage that list directly.  Among other
> things, it would allow reportbug to check the list, and it would allow
> aptitude to reassess the graph whenever the list is changed.
>
>
>         Stefan

At least "apt-get -d --force-depends install foo" should download
stuff so one can "dpkg -i --force-depends foo.deb". Sucks if you have
to use --print-uris and wget.

MfG
        Goswin