[Debian-med-packaging] Bug#898957: libquazip5-1 is marked Multi-Arch: same but is not coinstallable

[Francois Gouget]

Package: libquazip5-1
Version: 0.7.3-7
Severity: normal

Dear Maintainer,

Trying to install the amd64 and i386 versions of this package results in the 
following error:

# apt-get install libquazip5-1:i386 libquazip5-1:amd64
[...]
Unpacking libquazip5-1:amd64 (0.7.3-7) ...
dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of libquazip5-1:amd64:
 libquazip5-1:i386 (0.7.3-7) breaks libquazip-qt5-1 and is installed.
  libquazip5-1:amd64 (0.7.3-7) provides libquazip-qt5-1.
 libquazip5-1:i386 (0.7.3-7) breaks libquazip1-qt5 and is installed.
  libquazip5-1:amd64 (0.7.3-7) provides libquazip1-qt5.

dpkg: error processing package libquazip5-1:amd64 (--configure):
 dependency problems - leaving unconfigured


So the source of the issue seems to be that libquazip5-1:
* Provides the libquazip-qt5-1 and libquazip1-qt5 virtual packages
* Breaks + Replaces the libquazip-qt5-1 and libquazip1-qt5 virtual packages

Apt seems to consider that this means libquazip5-1:amd64 breaks libquazip5-1:i386 
through the libquazip-qt5-1 and libquazip1-qt5 virtual packages which prevents 
them from being coinstalled.

One strange thing is that, if I understand 7.6.1 of the Debian Policy Manual 
correctly, Breaks + Replaces is not supposed to be used on virtual packages:
http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/doc/debian-policy/policy.html/ch-relationships.html#s7.6.1

| For this usage of Replaces, virtual packages (see Virtual packages - Provides, 
| Section 7.5) are not considered when looking at a Replaces field. The packages 
| declared as being replaced must be mentioned by their real names.

Maybe that's why Apt is confused in this multi-arch configuration.


Note that, based on 7.6.2, the usual pattern for virtual packages would be 
Provides + Conflicts + Replaces:

|  In this situation, the package declared as being replaced can be a virtual 
|  package, so for example, all mail transport agents (MTAs) would have the 
|  following fields in their control files:
|
|     Provides: mail-transport-agent
|     Conflicts: mail-transport-agent
|     Replaces: mail-transport-agent
|
| ensuring that only one MTA can be unpacked at any one time

Seems like something to try to see if it fixes the issue.


But libquazip-qt5-1 and libquazip1-qt5 may well have been real packages at some 
point. However currently their only existence is through the Provides of 
libquazip5-1. Still if the goal it to state that libquazip5-1 breaks these old 
packages (to ensure clean upgrades), then a Breaks + version number would probably 
be the right thing to do (see 7.5 of the policy):

http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/doc/debian-policy/policy.html/ch-relationships.html#s-virtual

| If a relationship field has a version number attached, only real packages will 
| be considered to see whether the relationship is satisfied (or the prohibition 
| violated, for a conflict or breakage). In other words, if a version number is 
| specified, this is a request to ignore all Provides for that package name and 
| consider only real packages. The package manager will assume that a package 
| providing that virtual package is not of the "right" version. A Provides field 
| may not contain version numbers, and the version number of the concrete package 
| which provides a particular virtual package will not be considered when 
| considering a dependency on or conflict with the virtual package name.



-- System Information:
Debian Release: buster/sid
  APT prefers testing
  APT policy: (500, 'testing')
Architecture: i386 (i686)
Foreign Architectures: amd64

Kernel: Linux 4.16.0-1-686-pae (SMP w/4 CPU cores)
Locale: LANG=fr_FR.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=fr_FR.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8), LANGUAGE=fr_FR.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8)
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/dash
Init: systemd (via /run/systemd/system)
LSM: AppArmor: enabled

Versions of packages libquazip5-1 depends on:
ii  libc6         2.27-3
ii  libgcc1       1:8.1.0-1
ii  libqt5core5a  5.10.1+dfsg-6
ii  libstdc++6    8.1.0-1
ii  zlib1g        1:1.2.11.dfsg-1

libquazip5-1 recommends no packages.

Versions of packages libquazip5-1 suggests:
pn  libquazip-doc  <none>

-- no debconf information