Magnus Holmgren <holmg...@debian.org> writes: > When a binary package is renamed or split, as well as if several packages are > merged under a new name, transitional packages are normally created, which > depend on the new packages, which in turn Replaces and Conflicts with, and > possibly Provides, the old packages. I find those dummy packages as silly to > create as to uninstall after upgrading. > > I propose a new control field called e.g. Supersedes that will provide the > same semantics. In its simplest form, a renamed package will declare that it > Supersedes the old package name. That will be considered equivalent to > conflicting with/replacing earlier versions of the superseded package, as > well > as providing a new version of it, just like a dummy package. Multiple > packages > can supersede the same package (but they should probably be the same > version), > and one package can of course supersede many others. > > This proposal should be feasible; APT scans all Packages lists searching for > the best version of a given package to install, doesn't it? so it will be > able > to find the Supersedes fields at the same time. > > This would, among other things, solve the git problem; gnuit would supersede > git, which would tell APT that the latter should be upgraded into the former, > and that git the VCS is something else entirely. > > -- > Magnus Holmgren holmg...@debian.org > Debian Developer
What about a case where the superseded package remains in Debian. To bring up an example from the past: You have both apache and apache2. apache2 superseds apache but apache is still available and apache2 is not just a rename but a new package providing a superior implementation of the older package. Could supersede be made to detect such a case? Frontends should suggest updating to apache2 but not force this or do so automatically. Maybe only supersedes + provides would go automatically and superseds alone would onyl suggest the update. MfG Goswin -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-devel-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org