[Aptitude-devel] Bug#834790: Bug#834790: aptitude hangs at "Loading cache" when unable to download package list

[Kipp Cannon]

On Fri, 2016-08-19 at 22:09 +0100, Manuel A. Fernandez Montecelo wrote:
> Control: tags -1 + moreinfo
> 
> 
> 2016-08-19 10:36 Axel Beckert:
> > 
> > Control: tag -1 - d-i
> > 
> > Hi Kipp,
> > 
> > Kipp Cannon wrote:
> > > 
> > > After doing an update (pressing "u"), if an entry in
> > > /etc/apt/sources.list
> > > was invalid or the server did not respond, then upon returning
> > > from the
> > > screen of package list download progress bars aptitude displays
> > > "Loading
> > > cache" in a box and then stops and makes any further
> > > progress.  The program
> > > is somewhat responsive, for example, pressing "q" presents an
> > > option to
> > > quit the program, but it is impossible to use the program to
> > > install or
> > > upgrade any software until all servers in sources.list are
> > > responding
> > > again.
> > [...]
> > > 
> > > How to reproduce:  put a typo in /etc/apt/sources.list, e.g.,
> > > replace
> > > "stretch" with "strecth", run aptitude, press "u".
> > 
> > Thanks for the detailed bug report. Will try to reproduce it.
> 
> I tried to reproduce it, using a wrong domain name and a wrong suite
> name ("unstable2"), and failed to get the behaviour that you
> describe.
> It doesn't get stuck in "loading cache" -- it just shows errors, and
> one
> can continue normally.

Hi,

Thanks for looking into this.  I just tried again, and I do still get
the behaviour I describe.

> Perhaps it behaves as you describe if the domain name is valid but
> the
> server takes long time to reply, or if it's the only repository
> configured in /etc/apt/sources.list or some special condition like
> that,
> I don't have much time nor bandwidth to test combinations now.

Hmm, I see the problem no matter what is wrong with the entry.  I
encountered this when the URL for a server I was using changed, and the
server maintainers changed the names of the distributions they serve at
the same time.  So at first I had the server's name wrong, and got the
behaviour I describe.  Then I fixed that but had the distro name wrong,
and got the behaviour I describe.  Only when every entry in
/etc/apt/sources.list is exactly correct, and every server responds
without an error, am I presented with a package list.

This is new with the 0.8 version of aptitutude.  The 0.6 version didn't
do this.

> But in that case, I think that for most of these possible conditions,
> the errors would be clear enough for the user to know that s/he has
> to
> rectify the file, and for that one probably will quit aptitude
> anyway,
> or will occur to them that the typos and subsequent errors are the
> main
> cause of aptitude being stuck, and will indicate to them that
> restarting
> aptitude is necessary/advisable.
> 
> 
> Cheers.

Well ... I understand that you don't see the same behaviour I'm seeing,
but I think if you were you'd agree that the behaviour I'm seeing is
not good.

Anyway, I can't offer a patch, so, oh well.  Thanks again,

							-Kipp