Debian Bug report logs - #712511
lintian: Should check for references to update-notifier in postinst

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Message #5 received at [email protected] (full text, mbox, reply):

From: Julian Gilbey <[email protected]>

To: Debian bug reports <[email protected]>

Subject: lintian: should check for references to update-notifier in postinst

Date: Sun, 16 Jun 2013 16:40:03 +0100

Package: lintian
Version: 2.5.13

I just noticed that packages such as dbus still have a reference to
update-notifier that warn that a reboot is required.  But sid no
longer has that functionality - update-notifier is just a transitional
package.  So maintainers should be warned if their postinst is still
assuming this to warn administrators that a reboot is required.

I have no idea what the sid equivalent is, though.

   Julian

Message #10 received at [email protected] (full text, mbox, reply):

From: bastien ROUCARIES <[email protected]>

To: [email protected], [email protected]

Subject: [lintian] Moreinfo about update-notifier in postinst

Date: Sat, 28 Dec 2013 15:33:26 +0000

Package: lintian
Version: 2.5.19
control: tags -1 + moreinfo
control: severity - 1 wishlist

Thanks for your report but I need more info:
- a tag description explaining the problem
- a replacement 

BTW I alway consider asking for reboot except for kernel upgrade as a bug. What do you think ?

Bastien

Message #20 received at [email protected] (full text, mbox, reply):

From: Julian Gilbey <[email protected]>

To: bastien ROUCARIES <[email protected]>, [email protected]

Cc: [email protected]

Subject: Re: Bug#712511: [lintian] Moreinfo about update-notifier in postinst

Date: Sat, 28 Dec 2013 19:04:43 +0000

On Sat, Dec 28, 2013 at 03:33:26PM +0000, bastien ROUCARIES wrote:
> Package: lintian
> Version: 2.5.19
> control: tags -1 + moreinfo
> control: severity - 1 wishlist
> 
> Thanks for your report but I need more info:
> - a tag description explaining the problem
> - a replacement 
> 
> BTW I alway consider asking for reboot except for kernel upgrade as a bug. What do you think ?

Well, there are three related problems here, AFAICT.

(1) The update-notifier package is now entirely replaced by
    PackageKit, and the package is just a transitional package
    depending on gnome-packagekit
(2) The notify-reboot-required script, which will be removed before
    the jessie release (see the control file for
    update-notifier-common), writes messages into
    /var/run/reboot-required{,.pkgs}, and these files are not looked
    at by anything
(3) There is presently no replacement that I am aware of for anything
    other than GNOME (see bugs 710355 and 710565).

So I am unsure quite what to suggest.  A tag description could be
something like the following, triggered when
/usr/share/update-notifier/notify-reboot-required is detected in the
postinst (or maybe even just /usr/share/update-notifier).  Perhaps the
GNOME-PolicyKit team have suggestions?

Tag: postinst-calls-update-notifier
Severity: warning/error???
Certainty: Certain
Info: Your package (conditionally) calls update-notifier in its
 postinst, but the update-notifier package is no longer available in
 jessie.  Please remove the reference to it in your postinst.  At
 present, it is unclear what the correct replacement is....

   Julian

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