[Pkg-chromium-maint] Bug#766172: chromium: dpkg errors on initial installation (--compare-versions takes three arguments: <version> <relation> <version>)

[Petter Reinholdtsen]

Package: chromium
Version: 38.0.2125.101-2+b1
Severity: important
User: debian-edu at lists.debian.org
Usertags: debian-edu

I discovered this in Debian Edu, where we grep the log for error
messages during testing, and report all errors found to the user.
Setting severity important as these messages add noise to the list of
errors that need to be addressed in Debian Edu.

When installing chromium for the first time using tasksel in
debian-installer, these messages show up in the installation log:

Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: Selecting previously unselected package chromium.
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: Preparing to unpack .../chromium_38.0.2125.101-2+b1_amd64.deb ...
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: dpkg: error: --compare-versions takes three arguments: <version> <relation> <version>
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: 
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: Type dpkg --help for help about installing and deinstalling packages [*];
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: Use 'apt' or 'aptitude' for user-friendly package management;
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: Type dpkg -Dhelp for a list of dpkg debug flag values;
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: Type dpkg --force-help for a list of forcing options;
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: Type dpkg-deb --help for help about manipulating *.deb files;
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: 
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: Options marked [*] produce a lot of output - pipe it through 'less' or 'more' !
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: dpkg: error: --compare-versions takes three arguments: <version> <relation> <version>
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: 
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: Type dpkg --help for help about installing and deinstalling packages [*];
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: Use 'apt' or 'aptitude' for user-friendly package management;
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: Type dpkg -Dhelp for a list of dpkg debug flag values;
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: Type dpkg --force-help for a list of forcing options;
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: Type dpkg-deb --help for help about manipulating *.deb files;
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: 
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: Options marked [*] produce a lot of output - pipe it through 'less' or 'more' !
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: dpkg: error: --compare-versions takes three arguments: <version> <relation> <version>
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: 
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: Type dpkg --help for help about installing and deinstalling packages [*];
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: Use 'apt' or 'aptitude' for user-friendly package management;
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: Type dpkg -Dhelp for a list of dpkg debug flag values;
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: Type dpkg --force-help for a list of forcing options;
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: Type dpkg-deb --help for help about manipulating *.deb files;
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: 
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: Options marked [*] produce a lot of output - pipe it through 'less' or 'more' !
Oct 21 09:39:57 in-target: Unpacking chromium (38.0.2125.101-2+b1) ...

I guess the bug is in the preinst or config files, as the messages show
up before unpackaging.

-- 
Happy hacking
Petter Reinholdtsen