[Dict-common-dev] debconf-set-selection - default wordlist/ispell values ignored?

[Agustin Martin]

On Tue, Apr 22, 2008 at 11:54:08AM +0200, Ingard Mevåg wrote:
> Hello again
> 
> I have been looking more into the problem now and it seems that its not 
> the dictionaries-common package that is the problem itself. Another 
> dependencie that is installed is the wamerican package, and it is when 
> this package is configured that the select default wordlist whiptail 
> prompt is presented, the isntallation of the dictionaries-common package 
> itself doesnt prompt for anything when the default-wordlist option is 
> preseeded.
> 
> As far as i can tell, upon installation of the wamerican package it 
> calls /usr/share/dictionaries-common/dc-debconf-select.pl this script 
> and I assume this is the reason for the prompt. I couldnt find any 
> option in debconf-get-selections to preseed this in any way.
> 
> Any ideas?

If wamerican is installed in a different (later) run than
dictionaries-common it will trigger the question with a medium priority
if current value is available, or with critical otherwise (this last meaning
that current value is wrong).

I tend to think that on one run you are installing dictionaries-common and
in another different run you are installing ispell dicts and wordlists. That
will trigger the questions with the given priorities. The system is
designed for all them being installed together in the same run, so all
templates are available to dictionaries-common (which then knows what is to
be installed) and the right dictionary auto-selection can be done after
the really-to-be-installed dictionaries and wordlists. Further
dictionaries installation is expected to (may) trigger a prompt.

So, if you install dictionaries-common in a run, pre-seed the questions, and
then install wamerican question, may be asked because owners list for the
control question (shared/packages-{ispell,wordlist}) is changed. That is how
shared questions work, although here shared question is used to fill a
select question with appropriate values.

Is that what happens there?

-- 
Agustin