Subject: debconf: should fallback to teletype frontend if TERM does not have correct value

From: Eugeniy Meshcheryakov <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 27 Jul 2005 18:32:34 +0300

Package: debconf
Version: 1.4.52
Severity: normal

Currently if TERM variable have value that whiptail does not understand
installation of packages fails (real example is installation of
libpango1.0-common package via ssh using mlterm terminal emulator
(TERM=mlterm) when only one host have mlterm installed):

# TERM=dfdfsdsd dpkg-reconfigure libpango1.0-common
Cleaning up font configuration of pango...
Cleaning up category xfont..
Unknown terminal: dfdfsdsd
Check the TERM environment variable.
Also make sure that the terminal is defined in the terminfo database.
Alternatively, set the TERMCAP environment variable to the desired
termcap entry.
debconf: whiptail output to the above errors, giving up!

It will be better to use teletype frontend in such situations.

-- System Information:
Debian Release: testing/unstable
  APT prefers unstable
  APT policy: (990, 'unstable')
Architecture: i386 (i686)
Shell:  /bin/sh linked to /bin/bash
Kernel: Linux 2.6.12.1
Locale: LANG=uk_UA.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=uk_UA.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8)

Versions of packages debconf depends on:
ii  debconf-i18n                  1.4.52     full internationalization support 
ii  perl-base                     5.8.7-4    The Pathologically Eclectic Rubbis

Versions of packages debconf recommends:
ii  apt-utils                     0.6.38     APT utility programs

-- debconf information:
* debconf/priority: medium
* debconf/frontend: Dialog