Arch Linux

ProfessorTomoe

Member

From: Garland, TX

Registered: 2008-02-12

Posts: 61

Feature Request To Avoid Downgrading Packages By Accident

I've run into problems once in a while when a package from ABS where the ABS tree isn't caught up with the main repo yet as far as new versions are concerned.  If I do pacman -Syu and then do a makepkg -ci from the ABS version of the same package, I sometimes wind up overwriting the new package with the old ABS version.  A subsequent pacman -Syu may show the discrepancy and reinstall the newest version, but until then there is no indication that the downgrade occurred.

If possible, I'd like to request a feature for pacman that would warn about downgrades, or at least give more info than just an entry in the pacman.log file.  Something that shows the current version of a package installed and the version of the package replacing the current one would really help.

To take it one step further, it'd be nice if this could be implemented as a three-way toggle in the options section of the pacman.conf file, like this:

Downgrade = {warn,notify,logonly}

...where 'warn' prints a warning that the package is about to be downgraded (showing the current and replacement versions) and waits at a yes/no prompt before proceeding, 'notify' simply prints a notice of the current and replacement versions and then does the downgrade, and 'logonly' simply logs the transaction to pacman.log as usual.

Any chance this could be implemented?  It would really be useful for oddballs like me who like to recompile the latest stuff without having to wait for ABS to catch up (or having to look inside the PKGBUILD file for the version info).  Thanks for your consideration!

Allan

Pacman

From: Brisbane, AU

Registered: 2007-06-09

Posts: 11,672

Website

Re: Feature Request To Avoid Downgrading Packages By Accident

The pacman-dev mailing list is the place to ask, or even a feature request in the pacman section of the bug tracker.

My initial impression is that this seems a bit too much hand-holding but others might like the idea.  This is a request where are working patch would help...

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PGP Key: F99FFE0FEAE999BD | I develop pacman - buy me a drink!

jacko

Member

Registered: 2007-11-23

Posts: 840

Re: Feature Request To Avoid Downgrading Packages By Accident

you know, the abs is only a tool. It's not exactly the only way to get the most up to date PKGBUILDs arch has to offer.

Personally I just use a web browser, surf to the svn repo and right click, save as. For me it's quicker because I do not need to wait for every package to be updated. Also no need to change permissions on abs directory or change the location of the abs directory so one can easily build the packages.