Guillem,
Can you help here?
Background: I implemented DPKG_FORCE conf{def,ask,new,old} support in ucf[1].
Chris opened this bug as there was an issue with confdef handling (now
resolved). But a side issue has arisen regarding the interpretation of the
options in dpkg(1).
As you will see, FAI specifies both --force-confdef and --force-confnew which
surprised me. Or have I misunderstood the manpage and implemented incorrectly?
On Wed, Jan 15, 2025 at 11:10:32PM +0100, Chris Hofstaedtler wrote:
> > This also caught my eye:
> >
> > > $ podman run -it --rm debian:unstable apt --update install -y -o
> > > Dpkg::Options::=--force-confdef -o Dpkg::Options::=--force-confnew
> > > --allow-change-held-packages nfs-common
> >
> > Why both --force-confnew and --force-confdef? My reading of dpkg(1) suggests
> > that confdef overrides confnew. Or have I misunderstood?
>
> dpkg(1) has this to say:
>
> confnew: If a conffile has been modified and the version in the package did
> change, always install the new version without prompting, unless the
> --force-confdef is also specified, in which case the default action is
> preferred.
>
> I read this as --force-confdef modifies --force-confnew. However, from
> reading this text I cannot tell you what it actually wants to say.
Thanks
Mark
[1] as you suggested in https://bugs.debian.org/925375
