On Thu, 2 Jan 2020 01:45:16 +0000
Justin B Rye <justin.byam....@gmail.com> wrote:
> Karl O. Pinc wrote:
> > Attached is a patch which suggests cleaning up unused config files
> > leftover from prior upgrades, the foo.dpkg-old and similar files,
> > before starting the new upgrade.
>
> > --- a/en/upgrading.dbk
> > +++ b/en/upgrading.dbk
> > @@ -301,6 +301,17 @@ $ apt-forktracer | sort
> > It is a good idea to <link linkend="obsolete">remove obsolete
> > packages</link> from your system before upgrading.
> > </para>
> > + <para>
> > + A previous upgrade can have left unused copies of
> > configuration
>
> I'd recommend may have
Agreed.
> > + files; <link linkend="configuration-changes">old
> > versions</link>
> > + of configuration files, versions supplied by the package
> > + maintainers, etc. Removing leftover files from previous
> > upgrades,
> > + before performing another upgrade, can avoid confusion.
>
> The commas in this sentence seem subtly wrong.
I think the commas are right, as a parenthetical-ish without
parenthesis, but the sentence structure is strange. But
I want the forgettable stuff in the middle and the important
stuff on the ends of the sentence where the reader pays attention.
> > + Find
> > such
> > + leftover files with:
> > + </para>
> > + <screen>
> > +# find /etc -name '*.dpkg-*'
> > + </screen>
>
> But in fact if you're going to do this sweep (and haven't previously
> been in the habit of doing it), doesn't it make more sense to learn it
> as something to do *after* every (dist- or package-)upgrade? What
> kinds of confusion does it risk if you do it then?
>
> It might fit best in 4.7. "Preparing for the next release".
I like to leave the leftover files laying around for a while after
upgrade just in case they shed light on some problem that I don't
notice until later. So I clean them up (or not, usually) before
doing the next upgrade because I forget they exist.
It is also theoretically possible a dist-upgrade will be required
for some installed package in the middle of the release cycle.
That could create another *.dist-* file.
Regards,
Karl <k...@karlpinc.com>
Free Software: "You don't pay back, you pay forward."
-- Robert A. Heinlein
