>>>>> "Helmut" == Helmut Grohne <hel...@subdivi.de> writes:
Helmut> Package: tech-ctte Given our discussion at the last CTTE Helmut> meeting, I am turning my request for advice into a formal Helmut> one. Helmut> Most of the /usr-move that is happening via DEP17 seems to Helmut> be working out, but the effects of Conflicts raise the Helmut> question of what kinds of interactions with a package Helmut> manager are considered supported. Helmut> A naive reading of Debian policy 7.4 suggests that declaring Helmut> a conflict reliably prevents concurrent unpack: Helmut> | When one binary package declares a conflict with another Helmut> using a | Conflicts field, dpkg will refuse to allow them to Helmut> be unpacked on | the system at the same time. Helmut> If you account for the effects of aliasing, this turns out Helmut> to be a too naive reading as dpkg actually allows unpacking Helmut> a conflicting package if the other package is scheduled for Helmut> removal. Normally, this exception should not have observable Helmut> consequences, but aliasing makes it observable in the form Helmut> of file loss. I have filed #1057199 to clarify Helmut> debian-policy. I'd really like to understand why this is desired dpkg behavior. I appreciate that even if it is not desired behavior, we might not be able to get it fixed in ways that matter for this discussion. However my intuition is that it will help me at least think about the situation. As an example if the reason that behavior is needed has to do with some situation involving essential packages and conflicts, I'd like to understand that situation and how common it is. It would not be the first time in this discussion that we have discovered a new complexity. --Sam