[Dict-common-dev] Installing ispell dictionary from scratch fails

[Rafael Laboissiere]

I discovered a terrible problem when I try to install ispell dictionary
packages from scratch.  I first removed everything (ispell,
dictionaries-common, and all i<language> packages) and then this happens
when trying to install a package:


    # apt-get install ifrench
    Reading Package Lists... Done
    Building Dependency Tree... Done
    The following NEW packages will be installed:
      ifrench 
    0 packages upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 2  not upgraded.
    2 packages not fully installed or removed.
    Need to get 0B/420kB of archives. After unpacking 1638kB will be used.
    Preconfiguring packages ...
    Setting up dictionaries-common (0.6.5) ...
    Selected ispell dictionary:
        francais Hydro-Quebec (French Hydro-Quebec)
    does not correspond to any installed package in the system. at
    /usr/sbin/update-default-ispell line 26, <STDIN> line 2.
    dpkg: error processing dictionaries-common (--configure):
     subprocess post-installation script returned error exit status 255
    Errors were encountered while processing:
     dictionaries-common
    E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)


I think that the problem comes from teh call to "update-default-ispell
--rebuild" in the postinst script of dictionaries-common.  This has been
introduced in version 0.6.2.  Here is the relevant entry in debian/changelog:

  * debian/dictionaries-common.postinst: Added call to
    'update-default-ispell --rebuild' when configuring, such that all
    automatically generated files exist even when no dicitonary package is
    installed.

I do not remember exactly why that change was necessary, but this code has
to be reviewed.

-- 
Rafael