The problem is that the file exists, so make it not exist. Seems pretty cut and dry right?
That's the thinking that makes "--force" dangerous. One reason that the "file exists in filesystem" error might crop up is human error. A PKGBUILD from the AUR, for example, may not have a proper "provides" or "conflicts with" entry, so the package will want to install files with identical names to others on the system, but significantly different content. Forcing the installation in such a case may wipe files that key components of the system rely on, replacing them with incompatible substitutes. Extant files may be the obstacle to package installation but, in such a case, the existence of those files aren't the problem itself. The /lib -> /usr/lib transition is another example that caught many off-guard, since files vital to the maintenance of the system were being moved around; slip-ups during that transition left people with unbootable systems and broken package managers.
]]>Is the force option just a shortcut or does it serve some useful purpose in this situation that I am not picking up on?
It's a shortcut that may get removed https://mailman.archlinux.org/pipermail … 16424.html
]]>Often it is better to simply remove the offending files (or rename them).
Edit: Also, please mark your thread as solved (edit the first post).
]]>pacman -S curl
pacman: /usr/lib/libcurl.so.4: no version information available (required by /usr/lib/libalpm.so.7)
resolving dependencies...
looking for inter-conflicts...
Targets (1): curl-7.29.0-2
Total Installed Size: 1.86 MiB
Proceed with installation? [Y/n] y
(1/1) checking package integrity [#############################################################################] 100%
(1/1) loading package files [#############################################################################] 100%
(1/1) checking for file conflicts [#############################################################################] 100%
error: failed to commit transaction (conflicting files)
curl: /usr/lib/libcurl.so.4 exists in filesystem
Errors occurred, no packages were upgraded.
pacman: error while loading shared libraries: libcurl.so.4: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
Appreciate any advice on how can I reinstall curl.
]]>