Bug#742118: python-apt: sources.list writing may fail; encoding of sources.list files (advice wanted)
Package: python-apt
Version: 0.9.3.3
Severity: serious
On Sunday, I merged a bug fix from Ubuntu to force /etc/apt/sources.list
to be opened with utf-8 encoding. This was a mistake. The patch was broken,
and things can fail now for empty entries. It is reverted in git.
I also do not think that hardcoding UTF-8 is a sensible idea. Python 3
by default uses the encoding of the locale it is run in, and that is a
much better idea.
Of course, there are people who sometimes use the "C" locale (or other
locales with different encoding than their main locale) when running
tools using python-apt and then complain about failure because python-apt
cannot read files encoded in their main locale's encoding.
I thus think we should *not* hardcode an UTF-8 encoding in python-apt,
and should instead fix applications and users that run things in an
environment with a locale different from the normal one. It also matches
the behavior of Python itself.
PS.
I CCed debian-devel@l.d.o for further input on this topic, but I'm not
subscribed. So communication should either CC the bug; or if we do not
want to spam this, deity@l.d.o or my email. Thank you.
-- System Information:
Debian Release: jessie/sid
APT prefers unstable
APT policy: (980, 'unstable'), (500, 'unstable'), (100, 'experimental')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)
Kernel: Linux 3.13-1-amd64 (SMP w/4 CPU cores)
Locale: LANG=de_DE.utf8, LC_CTYPE=de_DE.utf8 (charmap=UTF-8)
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/dash
Versions of packages python-apt depends on:
ii libapt-inst1.5 0.9.16.1
ii libapt-pkg4.12 0.9.16.1
ii libc6 2.18-4
ii libgcc1 1:4.8.2-16
ii libstdc++6 4.8.2-16
ii python 2.7.5-5
ii python-apt-common 0.9.3.3
Versions of packages python-apt recommends:
ii iso-codes 3.51-1
ii lsb-release 4.1+Debian12
ii xz-utils 5.1.1alpha+20120614-2
Versions of packages python-apt suggests:
ii python-apt-dbg 0.9.3.3
pn python-apt-doc <none>
ii python-gtk2 2.24.0-3+b1
pn python-vte <none>
-- no debconf information
--
Julian Andres Klode - Debian Developer, Ubuntu Member
See http://wiki.debian.org/JulianAndresKlode and http://jak-linux.org/.
Please do not top-post if possible.
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