[Bug 849736] Re: apt-cache policy silently shows inaccurate information when any file in /etc/apt/sources.list.d is unreadable

[Torsten Spindler]

Here is an alternate patch, using _error->Notice instead of
_error->Warning. Using Notice leaves _error->empty false and hence the
apt-get update warning is not printed. For comparison. here the output
of the two patches:

apt-unreadable_sources.patch:

$ apt-cache policy apache2
apache2:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 2.2.22-1ubuntu1
  Version table:
     2.2.22-1ubuntu1 0
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise/main i386 Packages
     2.2.14-5ubuntu8 0
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ lucid/main i386 Packages
W: Can not read /etc/apt/sources.list.d/a.list, ignore the apt-get update warning below
W: You may want to run apt-get update to correct these problems

apt-unreadable_sources_notice.patch:

$  apt-cache policy apache2
apache2:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 2.2.22-1ubuntu1
  Version table:
     2.2.22-1ubuntu1 0
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise/main i386 Packages
     2.2.14-5ubuntu8 0
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ lucid/main i386 Packages
N: Can not read /etc/apt/sources.list.d/a.list.


** Patch added: "apt-unreadable_sources_notice.patch"
   https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/apt/+bug/849736/+attachment/2796485/+files/apt-unreadable_sources_notice.patch

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/849736

Title:
  apt-cache policy silently shows inaccurate information when any file
  in /etc/apt/sources.list.d is unreadable

Status in “apt” package in Ubuntu:
  Triaged

Bug description:
  Version: 0.8.16~exp5ubuntu8
  Release:	11.10

  I've noticed some odd behaviour from apt-cache policy where it
  pretends, without protest, that package versions in PPAs don't exist.

  The trigger seems to be a newly-added source whose .list file I set up
  to be only readable by root (it contains authentication information).

  When any file in /etc/apt/sources.list.d is unreadable, apt-cache
  won't try to read further files, and it also apparently discards
  information from any of the files it did manage to read.  (Assuming it
  reads them as it goes — I was only tracing calls to open(2).)

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