On Fri 26 Jul 2019 at 12:39:38 (+0000), davidson wrote:
> On Thu, 25 Jul 2019, David Wright wrote:
> > On Fri 26 Jul 2019 at 02:57:40 (+0000), davidson wrote:
> > > On Thu, 25 Jul 2019, Richard Hector wrote:
> > > > On 25/07/19 3:26 PM, Andrew Punnett wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > Debian currently uses the `column` command from FreeBSD. However,
> > > > > the `column` command included in the util-linux package from the
> > > > > Linux Kernel Organisation is much more useful.
> > > > >
> > > > > There is a bug report about this at
> > > > > https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=908975, which
> > > > > ends with the Debian util-linux package maintainer stating:
> > >
> > > [SNIPPED, in order to insert immediately-prior context from bugreport]
> > >
> > > "If you want the bsdutils to provide (util-linux version of) the tools
> > > you need to convince the bsdmainutils maintainers that they should
> > > stop shipping theirs, since we can't have file collisions between
> > > different packages (ie. debian policy forbids two different packages
> > > to provide the same file)."
> > >
> > > > > "Until you've convinced the bsdmainutils maintainers we should
> > > > > change to the util-linux versions, there's nothing that can be done
> > > > > on the util-linux/bsdutils side - thus the wontfix tag."
> > > > >
> > > > > How can we persuade the Debian bsdmainutils package maintainers to
> > > > > allow the Linux version of column to be shipped?
> > > >
> > > > Can't they all get along by using /etc/alternatives?
> > >
> > > I don't think file collisions are the kind of thing the debian
> > > alternatives system is meant to solve.
> >
> > That's news to me. I was under the impression that /etc/alternatives
> > is the mechanism by which "rename" can be used for two different
> > commands, prename and file-rename, which would otherwise collide
> > with the name /usr/bin/rename.
>
> TL;DNR: You might be able to call any cat in the neigborhood with
> "Here, kitty kitty." That doesn't make "Kitty" its name.
We're not talking about any old stray cats, but two that were both
originally called Kitty.
> I'll try to elaborate as briefly as I can (though I lack the Curt's
> flair for brevity).
[cut for brevity]
> Likewise,
> is it not fortunate that the two different commands in your
> illustration, named "prename" and "file-rename", do have *different*
> names?
Nothing to do with good fortune. The util-linux version of rename,
now preferred, and called file-rename, has been distributed on linux
for years; just not by Debian, and for good reasons: in its early
days it was inferior. I see a wishlist entry back in 2004.
People coming to Debian were often surprised by its absence. The
version of rename that was bundled with Perl was superior back
then, but unexpected as *the* /usr/bin/rename for such people.
A couple of references to rename's changes of name:
For prename:
"That being said, Policy does provide ways around such conflicts,
the most appropriate in this case being alternatives.
"I've made a note re-visit this issue once sarge is released, and
to add an alternative for /usr/bin/rename if the util-linux
maintainer is interested in doing similar." [#304705]
For file-rename:
"* Install rename as file-rename and register it as an alternative
for rename (see #735134)" [rename's changelog]
Cheers,
David.
