[Pkg-postgresql-public] Bug#891488: postgresql: Installing postgresql fails due to "error creating symbolic link '/usr/share/man/man1/psql.1.gz.dpkg-tmp': No such file or directory"

[Karl-Philipp Richter]

On Mon, 26 Feb 2018 02:31:21 +0000 Karl-Philipp Richter
<krichter at posteo.de> wrote:
> Package: postgresql
> Version: 9.6+181+deb9u1
> Severity: normal
> 
> Dear Maintainer,
> 
> Installing `postgresql` in the (quite empty) Docker image `debian:stretch-slim` fails due to the `dpkg` error
> 
> ```
> Setting up postgresql-client-9.6 (9.6.6-0+deb9u1) ...
> update-alternatives: using /usr/share/postgresql/9.6/man/man1/psql.1.gz to provide /usr/share/man/man1/psql.1.gz (psql.1.gz) in auto mode
> update-alternatives: error: error creating symbolic link '/usr/share/man/man1/psql.1.gz.dpkg-tmp': No such file or directory
> dpkg: error processing package postgresql-client-9.6 (--configure):
>  subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 2
> ```
> 
> The failure is repeatable 100% of times. I attached the output of an example run as `postgresql.log`. In case this is a user error (e.g. if it's impossible to install postgresql in such a minimal environment) the feedback should be improved.
> 
> 
> -- System Information:
> Debian Release: 9.3
>   APT prefers stable-updates
>   APT policy: (500, 'stable-updates'), (500, 'stable')
> Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)
> 
> Kernel: Linux 4.13.0-21-generic (SMP w/8 CPU cores)
> Locale: LANG=C, LC_CTYPE=C (charmap=ANSI_X3.4-1968), LANGUAGE=C (charmap=ANSI_X3.4-1968)
> Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/dash
> Init: unable to detect
> 
> Versions of packages postgresql depends on:
> iu  postgresql-9.6  9.6.6-0+deb9u1
> 
> postgresql recommends no packages.
> 
> Versions of packages postgresql suggests:
> iu  postgresql-doc  9.6+181+deb9u1
> 
> -- no debconf information
I work around this issue with `mkdir -p /usr/share/man/man1/
/usr/share/man/man3/ /usr/share/man/man7/`. This issue seems to be
hidden on system which have a basic set of manpages installed (and not
having the directories which only occur in environments like minimal
Docker images), however the situation should still be handled automatically.

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