Bug#616577: Upgrading libpango1.0-0 fails: rm: cannot remove `/usr/share/doc/libpango1.0-0': Is a directory

Alexander Kurtz kurtz.alex at googlemail.com
Sat Mar 5 18:40:20 UTC 2011


[ My last mail got cropped for some reason, here it is again ]

I investigated this further after realizing that on my other machine
`/usr/share/doc/libpango1.0-0' is a symlink to `libpango1.0-common'.

I first tried to re-install the old versions:

	$ sudo dpkg -i libpango1.0-0_1.28.3-1+squeeze2_i386.deb libpango1.0-common_1.28.3-1+squeeze2_all.deb 
	[...]
	$ file /usr/share/doc/libpango*
	/usr/share/doc/libpango-perl:      directory
	/usr/share/doc/libpango1.0-0:      directory
	/usr/share/doc/libpango1.0-common: directory
	/usr/share/doc/libpangomm-1.4-1:   directory
	$

I then removed the directory and re-installed:

	$ sudo rmdir -v /usr/share/doc/libpango1.0-0
	rmdir: removing directory, `/usr/share/doc/libpango1.0-0'
	$ sudo dpkg -i libpango1.0-0_1.28.3-1+squeeze2_i386.deb libpango1.0-common_1.28.3-1+squeeze2_all.deb 
	[...]
	$ file /usr/share/doc/libpango*
	/usr/share/doc/libpango-perl:      directory
	/usr/share/doc/libpango1.0-0:      symbolic link to `libpango1.0-common'
	/usr/share/doc/libpango1.0-common: directory
	/usr/share/doc/libpangomm-1.4-1:   directory
	$

I then removed the symlink, created a directory and re-installed:

	$ sudo rm -v /usr/share/doc/libpango1.0-0 
	removed `/usr/share/doc/libpango1.0-0'
	$ sudo mkdir -v /usr/share/doc/libpango1.0-0
	mkdir: created directory `/usr/share/doc/libpango1.0-0'
	$ sudo dpkg -i libpango1.0-0_1.28.3-1+squeeze2_i386.deb libpango1.0-common_1.28.3-1+squeeze2_all.deb 
	[...]
	$ sudo file /usr/share/doc/libpango*     
	/usr/share/doc/libpango-perl:      directory
	/usr/share/doc/libpango1.0-0:      directory
	/usr/share/doc/libpango1.0-common: directory
	/usr/share/doc/libpangomm-1.4-1:   directory
	$ 

It seems like dpkg won't overwrite a directory with a symlink (bug?) so
if /usr/share/doc/libpango1.0-0 has ever been a directory on your
machine, installing the latest libpango will fail.

Best regards

Alexander Kurtz
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