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

[Agustín Martín Domingo]

Rafael Laboissiere wrote:
> 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.
> 

We put the change because otherwise the new regions-to-spelling.map 
stuff would not have been refreshed on dictionaries-commmon upgrade, but 
only on ispell dictionary updgrade.

Yes, we may need to add a new option so only things under the --rebuild 
option are executed from dictionaries-common postinst and nothing about 
symlinks. I will take a look at 'update-default.in' code, seems not a 
difficult fix. That is not a problem for the aspell stuff since that is 
the only thing it does.


-- 
=====================================================================
Agustin Martin Domingo, Dpto. de Fisica, ETS Arquitectura Madrid,
(U. Politecnica de Madrid)  tel: +34 91-336-6536, Fax: +34 91-336-6554,
email:agmartin@aq.upm.es, http://corbu.aq.upm.es/~agmartin/welcome.html