Bug#333294: [Pbuilder-maint] Bug#333294: Info received (A patch for the default mirror)

[Eddy Petrișor]

Junichi Uekawa wrote:
> Hi,
> 
>> OK, I have also fixed this for the noninteractive default case.
>>
>> I also updated the Romanian translation to be back to 100%.
>>
> 
> I've noticed that it's done in postinst, and not in config script.
> That'll set questions back until later, and pause installation
> half-way.

I made the necessary changes and turned that postinst into .config, and made a test in a cowshell (I 
forcefully purged pbuilder (what could have gone wrong  ;-) and tried to install it via dpkg).

Th eproblem is that when installed via dpkg, that config script is not ran at all and it seems that 
the config script is called only by upper layers (dpkg-reconfigure seems to be one).


<eddyp_work> The config script might be run before the preinst script, and before the package is 
unpacked or any of its dependencies or pre-dependencies are satisfied.      <<<<< when does that 
"might" apply?
<sgran> eddyp_work: preconfigure
<sgran> IIRC
<eddyp_work> sgran: but on a normal install that script is not called ....
<eddyp_work> sgran: I just tested and is doesn't run it at all
<sgran> interesting
<sgran> do you see apt saying "preconfiguring packages ...."
<eddyp_work> sgran: I used plain dpkg
<sgran> hence the 'might', I suppose
<eddyp_work> sgran: so preconfigure is ran only when installing via apt?
<eddyp_work> that would suck big time
<sgran> you should probably ask someone who is actually sure of these things, but that's my memory, yes
<eddyp_work> sgran: indicating such a person would be welcome
<sgran> maybe the other frontends do it as well, I don't know
<eddyp_work> sgran: the weird part is that dpkg-reconfigure does call it ....
<eddyp_work> I suppose it does it itself, i.e. id not dpkg doing that
<eddyp_work> s/id/is/

It seems that there is a dpkg-preconfigure which is called by /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/70debconf, but 
that is optional:

bounty:/# cat /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/70debconf
// Pre-configure all packages with debconf before they are installed.
// If you don't like it, comment it out.
DPkg::Pre-Install-Pkgs {"/usr/sbin/dpkg-preconfigure --apt || true";};


> Unless it's really required to be that way, could you fix that?

I really dislike this limitation....

I wouldn't do this, I'd just keep the current postinst script and ask the question when doing the 
automatic detection at low priority, to avoid user interaction and require interaction only in the 
exceptional situation when the autodetection failed (that should only happen only when there's no 
deb line in any of the sources.list files).


What do you say?

-- 
Regards,
EddyP
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"Imagination is more important than knowledge" A.Einstein