reopen 1020290
stop
> > This effectively makes these packages Essential by stealth. Debian's
> usrmerge
> > FAQ says:
> >
> > * Is it mandatory to install this package?
> > No.
>
> That is correct - new installations are already merged-usr so there's no
> need for that package, hence the creation of usr-is-merged, which attests
> that the system is merged but doesn't otherwise do anything.
That's a particularly specious and disingenuous statement.
What you're actually saying is "It's mandatory if you haven't conformed yet".
In other words: it's mandatory but you don't want to admit it.
> It is strange that the upgrade didn't pick usrmerge though, did you block it
> locally somehow?
Nope. I had no idea this stealth-mandatory change was being forced.
I will when I have a few minutes to figure out how, though. Maybe a dummy
package with an appropriate Conflicts line.
Doesn't matter whether I do or not, it's broken right now anyway.
apt wants to install usr-is-merged in preference to usrmerge. I just tried
dist-upgrading a fairly minimal sid VM (which was last upgraded about two
weeks ago and still has separate /bin, /lib, /sbin, etc - and is exactly the
kind of bog-standard debian install that you'd expect something like this to
actually work 100% smoothly on) and got:
The following NEW packages will be installed:
usr-is-merged (30+nmu1)
It's not even possible to manually install usrmerge:
# apt-get -d -u install usrmerge
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
Package usrmerge is not available, but is referred to by another package.
This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsoleted, or
is only available from another source
E: Package 'usrmerge' has no installation candidate
But usrmerge does exist, it is available, there is an installation candidate:
# apt-cache show usrmerge
Package: usrmerge
Version: 30+nmu1
Installed-Size: 39
Maintainer: Marco d'Itri <m...@linux.it>
Architecture: all
Provides: usr-is-merged
Depends: perl:any, libfile-find-rule-perl
.....
Perhaps you haven't planned this insane, unwanted transition as well as you
thought you had? Maybe you should step back and think again before you
arbitrarily break other people's systems for pointless cosmetic reasons?
> The transition is mandatory and from Bookworm only merged-usr systems will
> be supported.
Why? I mean, apart from worshipping the sun shining out of Saint Poettering's
arse, why? What actual, practical, non-theological benefit is there?
It was a mistake for debian to stop supporting a separate /usr, and this only
cements that mistake by making it impossible to ever revert and impossible
even for local system admins to DIY.
