On Fri, Jan 22, 2010 at 03:24:43PM -0800, Todd A. Jacobs wrote: > On Thu, Jan 21, 2010 at 01:21:24PM +0000, Jeffrey Cao wrote: > > > sure elinks has not been updated for a long time. So, what is changed > > to make elinks depends on libtre5? > > I don't know about this particular case, but in general, one of two > things probably happened: > > - The upstream author changed a library dependency. This happens a > lot, and is only a bug if the package doesn't track the dependency > correctly. > - The maintainer made an error in a configuration file when building > the deb. If you've ever tried to build your own deb files, you'd > understand how easy it is for this to happen. > > Either way, you will typically get zero traction with "Why did someone > break my favorite package?" The correct thing to do is report a bug, if > no one has already done so, and then either wait for a new package to > migrate to your chosen repository (such as testing), install from > somewhere else (e.g. sid or experimental), or roll your own from source. > > If you're tracking packages from testing or unstable, then expect this > sort of thing to happen from time to time. The only cure is bug reports > and the occasional invocation of "aptitude dist-upgrade" to ensure that > you're upgrading things that have problematic library dependencies. > > -- > "Oh, look: rocks!" > -- Doctor Who, "Destiny of the Daleks" > >
Is there really even a point to filing a bug report against something when the fix is upstream? Testing is my opportunity as a peon to contribute to the Debian effort by filing reports when I can correctly assess a bug's existence. However, caution toward filing reports necessarily also seems important. I usually wait a month before thinking much of it when something breaks. Most apps start working correctly following an update, sooner than later. As I understand, buggy packages occasionally are pushed downstream to avoid dependency logjams in release development. I booted into the 2.6.26 kernel to run Google-Earth for 6 months. When it quit working in that kernel too, I waited another 4 months before discovering my card was dropped from fglrx. :) -- Kind Regards, Freeman -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
