Debian bug report logs - #920
`Packages' file is empty (was Bug#894 re mangled descriptions)

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Date: Sat, 27 May 95 21:48 BST
From: iwj10@cus.cam.ac.uk (Ian Jackson)
To: Debian bugs submission address <debian-bugs@pixar.com>
Subject: `Packages' file is empty (was Bug#894 re mangled descriptions)
In-Reply-To: <m0sFRqR-0007aMC@grus.cus.cam.ac.uk>
References: <m0sFRqR-0007aMC@grus.cus.cam.ac.uk>

Package: (admin)

Closing bug#894, which I submitted, Bruce Perens writes:
> This bug report was spurious.

No, it wasn't.  It was perfectly correct.

When I received the `marked as done' message I went to check whether
it had been fixed, and found that the Packages file was now a
zero-length file.

Please rebuilt it, and please check that the extended descriptions are
handled correctly before you mark this bug as done.

I've attached a copy of my original report; many other helpful
messages (including a suggested bugfix to pdpkg) are filed in the
tracking system logs for bug#894 - you should retrieve them from there
if you didn't save them when they appeared on debian-devel.

Ian.

> Message-Id: <m0sBjze-000Jf6C@hammer.thor.cam.ac.uk>
> Date: Wed, 17 May 95 15:22 BST
> From: iwj10@thor.cam.ac.uk (Ian Jackson)
> To: debian-bugs@pixar.com
> Cc: imurdock@debian.org (Ian Murdock)
> Subject: Packages file has mangled extended descriptions
> 
> I was going to post a message telling package maintainers to make sure
> their packages had extended descriptions (see my posting several weeks
> ago) when they next uploaded versions.
> 
> However, when I tried to generate a list of which packages did and did
> not have them I found that the Packages file on buster has had them
> all mangled !
> 
> When merging control files into the Packages file line boundaries in
> field values should be preserved.
> 
> For example, here is the control file for a fairly recent release of
> Smail:
> 
> Package: smail
> Version: 3.1.29.1
> Package_Revision: 8
> Maintainer: Ian Jackson <iwj10@cus.cam.ac.uk>
> Recommended: pine | elm | emacs | mh | mailx
> Optional: metamail
> Depends: cron
> Conflicts: sendmail
> Description: Electronic mail transport system.
>  Smail is the recommended mail transport agent (MTA) for Debian.
>  .
>  An MTA is the innards of the mail system - it takes messages from
>  user-friendly mailer programs and arranges for them to be delivered
>  locally or passed on to other systems as required.
>  .
>  In order to make use of it you must have one or more user level
>  mailreader programs such as elm, pine, mailx or Emacs (which has Rmail
>  and VM as mailreaders) installed.  If you wish to send messages other
>  than just to other users of your system you must also have appropriate
>  networking support, in the form of IP or UUCP.
> 
> Here is what buster says:
> 
> Class: standard
> Section: mail
> Package: smail
> Version: 3.1.29.1
> Package_Revision: 11
> Description: Electronic mail transport system. Smail is the recommended mail tr
> ansport agent (MTA) for Debian. . An MTA is the innards of the mail system - it
>  takes messages from user-friendly mailer programs and arranges for them to be
> delivered locally or passed on to other systems as required. . In order to make
>  use of it you must have one or more user level mailreader programs such as elm
> , pine, mailx or Emacs (which has Rmail and VM as mailreaders) installed.  If y
> ou wish to send messages other than just to other users of your system you must
>  also have appropriate networking support, in the form of IP or UUCP.
> Maintainer: Ian Jackson <iwj10@cus.cam.ac.uk>
> Depends: cron
> Recommended: mailx
> Optional: elm, metamail, pine
> Conflicts: sendmail
> Binary: Available
> 
> Yes, the Description line is 622 characters wide !  dselect will not
> display this at all well, and it defeats the intent of the extended
> descriptions.
> 
> Ian.