Bug#704230: apt considers packages with Architecture: all as being of the native architecture
On 30 March 2013 06:33, Mikko Rasa <tdb@tdb.fi> wrote:
> Package: apt
> Version: 0.9.7.8
> Severity: normal
>
> Some background: I'm migrating my home server to new hardware and considering
> changing the OS to 64-bit as well. Since apt now supports multiarch, I thought
> I'd do this by installing a 64-bit kernel first and then updating userspace bit
> by bit as necessary and as time permits. Unfortunately, reality turned out to
> be much more complicated.
>
Hello
Cross-grading an entire system is not a documented or supported
procedure. You could possibly still proceed as you intended, if you
are adventurous. It will take some encouraging of dpkg (lots of
‘--force-FOO’) and you will not receive support for the procedure
here.
Probably simpler to install a fresh amd64 system.
> If a package with Architecture: all depends on a package with a specific
> architecture, then that dependency can't be fulfilled by a foreign package.
This is by design. At a later stage of the multi-arch transition it
may be changed, but not now.
<https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MultiarchSpec#Dependencies_involving_Architecture:_all_packages>
> In
> my scenario above, this caused apt to think half the system was broken as soon
> as dpkg and apt themselves had been changed to amd64 versions. For example:
>
> xbase-clients : Depends: x11-apps but it is not installed
> Depends: x11-session-utils but it is not installed
> Depends: x11-xkb-utils but it is not installed
> Depends: x11-xserver-utils but it is not installed
> Depends: xauth but it is not installed
> Depends: xinit but it is not installed
>
> However, dpkg -l shows this:
>
> ii x11-apps 7.7~2 i386 X applications
> ii x11-session-utils 7.6+2 i386 X session utilities
> ii x11-xkb-utils 7.7~1 i386 X11 XKB utilities
> ii x11-xserver-utils 7.7~3 i386 X server utilities
> ii xauth 1:1.0.7-1 i386 X authentication utility
> ii xinit 1.3.2-1 i386 X server initialisation tool
>
> Clearly those packages are installed and apt's complaints are baseless.
>
> This seems to affect dpkg as well.
>
As above, this is by design. The developers are aware of the
highlighted dependency handling and the desire to perhaps move away
from it eventually. I am therefore prone to closing this as
not-a-bug, the difficultly in cross-grading a system is neither apts
or dpkgs fault, they handle the situation correctly.
>
> -- System Information:
> Debian Release: 7.0
> APT prefers unstable
> APT policy: (500, 'unstable'), (500, 'testing'), (1, 'experimental')
> Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)
> Foreign Architectures: i386
>
Regards
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