Bug#548661: dpkg: Override package dependencies

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

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

>> 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.
>
> Actually, the download part is the least painful part.  The problem is
> that subsequent uses of aptitutde will burp because the package is
> deemed "BROKEN".  When I've had to use such haks in the past I often
> ended up letting aptitude remove the "broken" package, and then re-add
> it manually afterwards.  But if you update weekly, like I do, it quickly
> gets very tedious, especially when you start having more than one such
> special case and when it occasionally needs extra packages.
>
>
>         Stefan

Actualy I do that too and it is anyoing.

Say you have A installed with force (or half installed with dpkg due
to some dependency) then you can not use apt/aptitude at all even to
install C that is totaly unrelated to A. Maybe "apt-get install C"
should only warn about A being broken when C has no dependency to A.

MfG
        Goswin