[Pkg-php-pecl] Bug#743976: php5-json: Missing package dependencies prevent package removal

[Roger Leigh]

Package: php5-json
Version: 1.3.4-1
Severity: serious
Justification: Broken deps prevent deinstall

% sudo apt-get remove php5-json   
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
The following packages will be REMOVED:
  php5-common php5-json
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 2 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
After this operation, 1,046 kB disk space will be freed.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n] 
(Reading database ... 514336 files and directories currently installed.)
Removing php5-common (5.5.11+dfsg-2) ...
Removing php5-json (1.3.4-1) ...
/var/lib/dpkg/info/php5-json.prerm: 13: /var/lib/dpkg/info/php5-json.prerm: php5dismod: not found
dpkg: error processing package php5-json (--remove):
 subprocess installed pre-removal script returned error exit status 127
/var/lib/dpkg/info/php5-json.postinst: 11: /var/lib/dpkg/info/php5-json.postinst: php5enmod: not found
dpkg: error while cleaning up:
 subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 127
Errors were encountered while processing:
 php5-json
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)


php5-common has a dependency upon php5-json
php5-json does not have a dependency upon php5-common

This results in php5-common being removed first, and php5-json's
prerm failing due to php5dismod not being found: it's already
been removed by this point.  Note that when dpkg tries to
abort the transaction, the rerun of the postinst *also* fails due
to php5enmod also being removed, so this isn't strictly a
removal bug, it's also a bug for installation as well.

I'm not familiar with the php5 packaging, but it's clear that the
dependencies are incorrect here, and this leads to an inability to
deinstall, hence the serious severity.  Suggestions, in decending
order of usefulness:

- can the dependencies be inverted?  That is, make php5-json depend
  on php5-common?
- can the prerm be made to clean up properly in the absence of
  php5dismod?  likewise the prerm and php4enmod
- if the dependencies are mutual, should the packages be merged?


Regards,
Roger

-- System Information:
Debian Release: jessie/sid
  APT prefers unstable
  APT policy: (550, 'unstable')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)

Kernel: Linux 3.13-1-amd64 (SMP w/8 CPU cores)
Locale: LANG=en_GB.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=en_GB.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8)
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/dash

Versions of packages php5-json depends on:
ii  libc6            2.18-4
ii  libjson-c2       0.11-3
pn  phpapi-20121212  <none>
ii  ucf              3.0027+nmu1

php5-json recommends no packages.

php5-json suggests no packages.

-- no debconf information