Bug#337332: vim.list unpacks two wrong links (which update-alternatives then corrects)

[Stefano Zacchiroli]

tags 337332 + wontfix pending
thanks

On Fri, Nov 04, 2005 at 03:50:21PM +0000, jeremy at jsbygott.fsnet.co.uk wrote:
> Well, /usr/share/man/man1/eview.1.gz on your list looks slightly
> strange, but I would need to see the maintainer scripts.

It is just a manpage link: .so man1/vim.1, like others "alias"
manapages.

> From what you say, the vim-packages have changed a lot even since the
> last upload (1:6.4-001+2).  *Your* vim-common.list looks much more
> like vim.list from stable/testing/unstable than like vim-common.list,

Yes, it has changed a lot, the intended architecture is as follows:
- vim-runtime -> arch independent common files
- vim-common -> arch dependent common files
- vim-tiny -> compact vim variant (depends on vim-{common,runtime})
- vim -> "standard" vim variant (depends on the above two)
- vim-* -> other variants (depend on vim-{common,runtime})

> Is vim-common in future going to be architecture-dependent?  Some

Yes.

> Is vim-common going to install dangling links and /etc/alternatives/*
> for binaries that aren't in vim-common?

Yes.

> Is that elegant?

Maybe not, but see below.

> Is it going to be popular?  Is someone going to say it breaches at
> least the intention of policy? Policy vn 3.6.1, appendix F: 

I understand you care about cosmetic issues :-), I usually do. Stil, I
don't see this solution as problematic since there is no point in
installing vim-common alone (and if you do you will see the Recommends
on at least one of the vim variants). If you install vim-common is
almost certainly because you want to install one of the vim variants and
at that moment links and alternatives wont be dangling anymore.

There are two alternatives solutions:
1) install the symlinks in each vim variant package -> orrible, since
   then variants should be conflicting with each other: A problem we
   just solve that we don't want back anymore
2) install the alternatives in each of the vim variants (that would be
   easy) and create in some of the maintainer scripts the symlinks in
   each of the vim-variant packages. IMO is not worth the effort and I
   don't see any real benefit.

> Given all the changes, I think my original question has disappeared,
> so I am happy if you mark this bug wontfix and work on something
> better!

Done, and even "pending". A strange mix of tags, I understand, but the
bug will be closed with the next upload (as soon as I complete the work
I detailed above ...).

Cheers.

-- 
Stefano Zacchiroli -*- Computer Science PhD student @ Uny Bologna, Italy
zack@{cs.unibo.it,debian.org,bononia.it} -%- http://www.bononia.it/zack/
If there's any real truth it's that the entire multidimensional infinity
of the Universe is almost certainly being run by a bunch of maniacs. -!-