Bug#850661: Provides line defines versioned virtual packages

2017-01-08 Thread martin f krafft 
Package: pypy-lib
Version: 5.3.1+dfsg-1
Severity: serious

aptitude complains about the Provides line for pypy-lib:

W: Ignoring Provides line with DepCompareOp for package pypy-cffi
W: Ignoring Provides line with DepCompareOp for package 
pypy-cffi-backend-api-max
W: Ignoring Provides line with DepCompareOp for package 
pypy-cffi-backend-api-min
W: You may want to update the package lists to correct these missing files

Provides defines virtual packages, and those do not (and cannot as
it wouldn't make sense) carry version numbers.

§ 7.5 of the policy says:

  A Provides field may not contain version numbers

which is why I am filing this bug report RC…

-- System Information:
Debian Release: stretch/sid
  APT prefers unstable
  APT policy: (500, 'unstable'), (1, 'experimental')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)
Foreign Architectures: i386

Kernel: Linux 4.8.0-2-amd64 (SMP w/4 CPU cores)
Locale: LANG=en_NZ, LC_CTYPE=en_NZ.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8)
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/dash
Init: systemd (via /run/systemd/system)


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`. `'`   http://people.debian.org/~madduck
  `-  Debian - when you have better things to do than fixing systems


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Bug#850661: Provides line defines versioned virtual packages

2017-01-08 Thread Stefano Rivera 
Hi martin (2017.01.09_02:36:38_+0200)
> Provides defines virtual packages, and those do not (and cannot as
> it wouldn't make sense) carry version numbers.

They have been supported in dpkg since 1.17.11, and other tools since.

Pypy is not the only package to use them. And it waited until they were
fairly well supported in archive infrastructure (britney, etc.) before
starting to use them.

> § 7.5 of the policy says:
> 
>   A Provides field may not contain version numbers

Pretty sure this is a case of policy lagging behind reality (which
happens more often than we'd like :( ).

Here's the dpkg maintainer agreeing with me, in an aptitude bug:

https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=801216#26

SR

-- 
Stefano Rivera
  http://tumbleweed.org.za/
  +1 415 683 3272