[Debconf-devel] Bug#1000968: closed by Colin Watson <cjwatson at debian.org> (Re: Bug#1000968: Mention the only way to abort dpkg-reconfigure)

[積丹尼 Dan Jacobson]

>> Else there is no way to quit. ^C, ^Z don't work.

B> This is too situational for there to be a reasonable way to advise on it
B> in the man page - it'll depend very much on the debconf frontend in use,

Fine. Then the very clear solution is on every page, automatically add an 'abort' choice.

B> on the maintainer scripts in question, etc.

Hmmm, I see. Not so simple.

Well anyway, see
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/newt/+bug/31207 .

And dpkg-reconfigure remains the craziest command in Debian.

Even the Debian Installer allows people to abort out.

Anyway, you will have a bunch of people using 'killall dpkg-reconfigure'
at random steps.

It would be much better, if like in the Debian Installer, at each step,
authors were required to add an abort choice, which would do the proper
clean up for their scripts at that point.

Sure, currently thoughtful authors already add such choices.
But most just assume the user "always wants to complete and submit their
tax return, and never has second thoughts halfway."