[Piuparts-devel] EDOS file overwrite check between distributions?

[Andreas Beckmann]

Hi Ralf,

if I understood correctly, the EDOS file overwrite test only tests
inside a distribution and you usually catch the errors listed in
http://piuparts.debian.org/sid/overwrite_other_packages_files_error.html
before piuparts gets to test the packages :-)

But there are also a lot of similar errors that show up only during
upgrade tests from squeeze to wheezy (or wheezy to sid or squeeze to
sid) like
http://piuparts.debian.org/squeeze2wheezy/overwrite_other_packages_files_error.html

Is it possible to do your EDOS check also between distributions to catch
all possible upgrade issues that involve file overwrites? piuparts only
detects the problems if the packages are linked by some depndency
(usually a file was moved intentionally and the old location Depends on
the new one, but a proper versioned Breaks/Replaces was forgotten). I
think there are some cases where piuparts may not find this problem,
e.g. if a transitional package is missing.

Another question, when doing installation tests, do you also check that
co-installable packages behave sanely and the second one that gets
installed does not break the first one in a way that leaves the first
installed in an unusable state after the second is removed? (i.e.
forgotten diversion, disappeared files, ...)

e.g. two packages A, B shipping the same file F and are co-installable,
so the system state after

  bootstrap chroot
  install A
  install B
  purge B

should be equivalent to

  bootstrap chroot
  install B
  install A
  purge B

and should be equivalent to

  bootstrap chroot
  install A

(i.e. whatever B does to install F, it must be undone properly when B is
removed+purged)
(A may be allowed to disappear in the first sequence)

And of course vice versa.


Andreas