Subject: Every update kills system as library is not in /lib

From: Klaus Ethgen <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2023 11:13:31 +0100

Package: libpcre2-8-0
Version: 10.42-1
Severity: critical

Since libpcre2-8-0 was moved to /usr by debian, every update kills my
whole system as nearly everything is depending on that library.

Every other library can be managed via dpkg-divert but not libpcre2-8-0.

So after every update, my system is unusable and unbootable until I boot
a rescue system and manually move everything from
/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpcre2-8.so* to /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/. Also
apt broke in the middle as also apt and dpkg depending on libpcre2-8-0
and the update procedure breaks symlinks in /lib.

Please move libpcre2-8-0 back to /lib where it belongs to.

-- System Information:
Distributor ID:	Devuan
Description:	Devuan GNU/Linux 5 (daedalus/ceres)
Release:	5
Codename:	daedalus ceres
Architecture: x86_64

Kernel: Linux 5.16.17 (SMP w/8 CPU threads)
Kernel taint flags: TAINT_FIRMWARE_WORKAROUND
Locale: LANG=C, LC_CTYPE=C.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8), LANGUAGE not set
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/dash
Init: sysvinit (via /sbin/init)

Versions of packages libpcre2-8-0 depends on:
ii  libc6  2.36-7

libpcre2-8-0 recommends no packages.

libpcre2-8-0 suggests no packages.

-- no debconf information
-- 
Klaus Ethgen                                       http://www.ethgen.ch/
pub  4096R/4E20AF1C 2011-05-16            Klaus Ethgen <[email-masked]>
Fingerprint: 85D4 CA42 952C 949B 1753  62B3 79D0 B06F 4E20 AF1C

---

From: Klaus Ethgen <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2023 14:22:49 +0100

I made a package that fixes this library. See [0].

Regards
   Klaus

[0] ftp://ftp.ethgen.ch/pub/debian/pool/unofficial/p/pcre2/
-- 
Klaus Ethgen                                       http://www.ethgen.ch/
pub  4096R/4E20AF1C 2011-05-16            Klaus Ethgen <[email-masked]>
Fingerprint: 85D4 CA42 952C 949B 1753  62B3 79D0 B06F 4E20 AF1C

---

From: Mark Hindley <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2023 08:08:22 +0000

Control: tags -1 debian
Control: forwarded -1 https://bugs.debian.org/1027697

Klaus,

Thanks for this.

First of all,  I want to make it clear that I am sympathetic with your concerns.

> Severity: critical

Regarding libpcre2-8-0 specifically, this is an unforked package and Devuan uses
Debian's packages directly without recompilation so the correct place to raise
this is with Debian, as you have. Thanks.

I know you will be disappointed with the response you got there. However,
Matthew Vernon is sympathetic to Devuan and his measured response accurately
reflects the situation, however unpalatable.

Whilst Devuan has not forced merged-usr, I am unsure how long that approach will
be feasible. I fear, not long.

I greatly regret Debian's decisions in this area which seem to me to place dogma
above supporting existing systems for little practical benefit. However, that
ship has sailed.

Yes, Devuan *could* fork this particular library, however, it is likely to be the
first of many and I am not sure that is a viably approach for Devuan to take.

I am sorry not to be more encouraging.

Best wishes

Mark

---

From: Klaus Ethgen <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2023 09:26:08 +0100

Hi Mark,

> On Mon, Jan 02, 2023 at 11:13:31AM +0100, Klaus Ethgen wrote:
[...]
> first of many and I am not sure that is a viably approach for Devuan to take.

The decission in Debian is caused by systemd and the folks around not
understanding the reason for having important libraries (and binaries)
in / instead of /usr. It is simply a form of ignorance.

When it comes to the libraries that are already broken (but could be
fixed with dpkg-divert) are the following:
  - libargon2-1
  - libpopt0
  - libkmod2
  - liblz4-1
  - libzstd1
  - libjson-c3
  - libjson-c4
  - libjson-c5
  - libssl1.1
  - libssl3
  - libaio1
  - libacl1
  - libattr1
  - libuuid1
  - libblkid1
  - libelogind0
  - libmount1
  - libedit2
  - libbsd0
  - libmd0

I think, it could be doable to fix that packages. Even more as most of
them was in /lib in the past. So it was a active form of sabotage of
Debian.

There could be even a package setting up that diverts en mass to fix
that.

Regards
   Klaus