Bug#1011463: libgirepository-1.0-1: 1.72.0-1+b1 breaks python-gi (<< 3.42.0-1+b1)

[Simon McVittie]

On Mon, 23 May 2022 at 16:59:55 +0300, Bohdan Horbeshko wrote:
> libgirepository-1.0-1: 1.72.0-1+b1 breaks python-gi (<< 3.42.0-1+b1)

Yes, that is a true statement. If python-gi still existed in Debian,
then you would not be able to use new versions of libgirepository-1.0-1
together with old versions of python-gi, because old versions of
python(3)-gi were compiled against libffi7 (or older), but the new
libgirepository-1.0-1 exposes libffi8 in its ABI. The changes to struct
sizes between libffi7 and libffi8 would cause python-gi to crash on at
least some CPU architectures.

Breaks: python-gi (with no version constraint) would have the same
practical effect, except that if someone somehow brings back Python 2
support in pygobject, a non-versioned Breaks would require more
coordination.

If you have legacy code that requires python-gi, I would recommend
using it via a container or chroot (perhaps a Docker, Toolbx or schroot
environment with Debian 11 or older, or perhaps Flatpak or similar),
rather than on a host system that needs to run an up-to-date version
of Debian.

    smcv