Bug#911718: apt: error message "apt install enigmail" failure is misleading
Package: apt
Version: 1.4.8
Severity: minor
Over in https://bugs.debian.org/909000,
On Mon 2018-10-22 08:28:50 -0400, Fabián Rodríguez wrote:
> This also fails in a clean Stretch install:
>
> # apt install enigmail
> Reading package lists... Done
> Building dependency tree
> Reading state information... Done
> Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have
> requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
> distribution that some required packages have not yet been created
> or been moved out of Incoming.
> The following information may help to resolve the situation:
>
> The following packages have unmet dependencies:
> enigmail : Depends: thunderbird (>= 1:52.0) but it is not going to be
> installed or
> icedove (>= 1:52.0)
> E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.
I just want to note that this error message specifically appears to be a
bug in apt -- the reason apt won't let you install enigmail is because
the version of thunderbird in debian-security stretch/updates
(thunderbird 1:60.0) is marked with:
Breaks: enigmail (<< 2:2~)
That's correct, because versions of enigmail prior to 2.0 do not work on
thunderbird 60 any longer.
it would be nice if apt improved the reporting here, to identify that
the cause of the problem is a conflict between the currently installed
version of thunderbird, and the desired version of enigmail.
Compare the differences with neither thunderbird nor enigmail installed:
root@stretch:~# apt install enigmail
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have
requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
distribution that some required packages have not yet been created
or been moved out of Incoming.
The following information may help to resolve the situation:
The following packages have unmet dependencies:
enigmail : Depends: thunderbird (>= 1:52.0) but it is not going to be
installed or
icedove (>= 1:52.0)
E: Unable to correct problems, you have held
broken packages.
root@stretch:~# apt install enigmail thunderbird
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have
requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
distribution that some required packages have not yet been created
or been moved out of Incoming.
The following information may help to resolve the situation:
The following packages have unmet dependencies:
thunderbird : Breaks: enigmail (< 2:2~) but 2:1.9.9-1~deb9u1 is to be
installed
E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.
root@stretch:~#
the latter error message is clearly the correct one, but it doesn't
show in the former attempt.
--dkg
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