>Well, yes, that’s intentional. See the changelog for 76 version for
the background.
I read #911832 for the background. Can you please explain a bit, how
autopkgtests and force removal of previous PHP versions are related?
Solution to force removal of previous PHP versions looks hasty. I
clearly understand that better solution requires more time, however.
But maybe it is still possible to find another/better solution?
>Besides there has been always only one supported PHP version per
Debian release.
In fact it is not. Thanks to your personal efforts, we [was] able to
easily install several PHP versions in same environment:
1) Package naming scheme was changed to include minor version in package
names (e.g php5-common -> php7.1-common), that was a step to allow
several versions in same installation.
2) PHP interpreter version is choosed using 'update-alternatives' mechanism.
3) We are able to build binary packages of PECL extensions, which will
support (provide binaries) for several PHP versions at once. Inside of
this process the `phpquery` tool from this 'php-defaults' package is
used too.
All these confirms what use of several PHP versions was permitted.The
`php-common-76` is the only thing which now forbids installation of
several PHP versions in same environment.
The change you did in version 76 is a regression. It will be quite
unfortunate if that version will pass to stable.
I hope to draw your attention to this problem again and find another
solution.
----
As I need to use several PHP versions in one environment, I'm able to
build my own version of 'php-common' with removed 'Breaks' lines, to
allow packages to be installed like it was before.
Unfortunately, I'm not familar with php packaging and autotests process,
to provide my own solution, but I ready to work on this issue to help
you/with your help and instructions.
Thanks for your work on Debian.
