On Wed, Jul 14, 2004 at 02:05:35PM -0700, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: | Here's the transaction... | | floozy:~# apt-get install firestarter [...] | Sorry, but the following packages have unmet dependencies: | firestarter: Depends: libbonoboui2-0 (>= 2.5.4) but it is not going to be installed | Depends: libgnome2-0 (>= 2.6.0) but it is not going to be installed | Depends: libgnomeui-0 (>= 2.6.0) but it is not going to be installed | E: Sorry, broken packages
| I'm running stable Woody [...] | I've verified (trust me) that "apt-get" really is trying to go get | the upgraded ("testing") version of Firestarter. [...] | Questions: | | (1) If this isn't a package install bug, what is it? It is a missing dependency problem. | and how do I get | apt-get/dpkg/dselect/whoever to cough up the facts of the case? It did! :-). (see the end of the long apt message where it talks about unmet dependencies) | (2) If it's actually some sort of dependency problem, how can I fix | the dependencies that apt-get doesn't like, and (since APT generally | doesn't seem to like the situation, and therefore there's likely to | be something ominous afoot) The situation arises from using apt preferences - you set 'stable' as the default release, however you explicitly requested a 'testing' package. apt will not, by default, with those settings upgrade the libraries to the necessary versions. Instead it picks the 'stable' version, by default, and then complains that it is too old. There are a few ways to solve that. 1) temporarily change the default release # apt-get -t testing install firestarter (or edit /etc/apt/preferences) 2) explicitly specify which release or version you want the packages from : # apt-get install firestarter libbonoboui2-0/testing libgnome2-0/testing libgnomeui-0/testing 3) use aptitude Option #1 is ok. Option #2 will soon get tiresome as you iterate through each layer of dependencies. (once you run the above command you'll find out what newer libraries those libraries need and so on) Aptitude's curses interface makes option #2 easier. It also gives a clearer indication of what was wrong in the first place. | how can I be sure that whatever I'm | "fixing" doesn't cause more problems elsewhere? In general you can't. You need to decide whether or not you are willing to attempt the upgrade and see what happens. I can tell you that the libraries in testing will need a newer libc6 than stable has, and once you upgrade libc6 (and gnome) you will have upgraded almost everything to testing and you won't have a 'stable' system any more. There is nothing inherently wrong with that, unless you really want to stick with stable. If you really don't want to move to testing, then you will probably find it easier to find a backport of the app and all dependent libraries or install the source package and build it yourself. | (I've already tried | various things, and APT is *really* tenacious about not liking the | idea of installing this - and I already tried an "experiment" | in loading the "libbonoboui2-0" package which nearly ended in | disaster; see my earlier post today) This is probably due to the chain of dependencies and your setting stable as the default release. | (2) I can't believe I'm the first person to encounter this... You're not, and the issue isn't related to firestarter. | so why can't I find *anything* about either the "apt-get" error | message generally I don't know. I do know that 'apt-get' was created only as a proof-of-concept interface for testing the "apt" system/library. It was never intended to be used as widly as it is. Instead admins are supposed to use nice frontends like aptitude (or others). Having said that, I will admit to having used apt-get directly for a long time before really giving aptitude a chance. | (3) Is it possible that I need to do a complete upgrade to the "sarge" | Kernel, in order to get this new "firestarter" to work, Yeah, basically. | and if so how do I make that determination Trace the dependency chain and see how many packages need to be upgraded to satisfy all deps. In this case it will (almost certainly) require a new libc6. | (and why doesn't "apt-get" see fit to inform me thereof... etc...)? It is, sort of, by telling you dependencies aren't met. It isn't automatically upgrading those packages because you told it not to (see above). HTH, -D -- One OS to rule them all, one OS to find them, One OS to bring them all and in the darkness bind them, In the Land of Redmond, where the Shadows lie. www: http://dman13.dyndns.org/~dman/ jabber: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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