[Bug 573168] Re: dpkg config resolver: should have "Merge" capability

[Stabelweb]

> Given that we have a "base", "theirs" and "mine", it seems a simple
change to add an "M: attempt to merge" option.

The problem is that your Ubuntu (or Debian) system does not really have
a "base" version of that conffile, only a checksum stored with the rest
of the package information in /var/lib/dpkg/status.

That fact would either have to change first or you'd need the original
package, which is usually available.

Storing each actual conffile might be prohibitively large amounts of space if you have bad packages.
That would be a decision that either needs to be taken by someone with an overview over these things or it has to be opt-in on a per system or per-package basis.

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/573168

Title:
  dpkg config resolver: should have "Merge" capability

Status in dpkg package in Ubuntu:
  Triaged
Status in dpkg package in Debian:
  Confirmed

Bug description:
  Binary package hint: dpkg

  I'm certain this has been reported before, but I can't find the bug
  after much searching...

  dpkg currently gives this message when it tries to install a
  configuration file over an customization:

  Configuration file `/etc/configfile'
   ==> Modified (by you or by a script) since installation.
   ==> Package distributor has shipped an updated version.
     What would you like to do about it ?  Your options are:
      Y or I  : install the package maintainer's version
      N or O  : keep your currently-installed version
        D     : show the differences between the versions
        Z     : background this process to examine the situation
   The default action is to keep your current version.
  *** issue (Y/I/N/O/D/Z) [default=N] ?

  Given that we have a "base", "theirs" and "mine", it seems a simple
  change to add an "M: attempt to merge" option.

  All of the 12 or so prompts I was given when upgrading to Lucid could
  have been resolved this way. Even if the merge fails and there are
  conflicts (unlikely), I would still prefer to resolve the conflict
  manually than blindly throw away either my or the maintainer's edits.

  ==== Implementation suggestion:

  First prompt would look like this:

  Configuration file `/etc/configfile'
   ==> Modified (by you or by a script) since installation.
   ==> Package distributor has shipped an updated version.
     What would you like to do about it ?  Your options are:
      Y or I  : install the package maintainer's version
      N or O  : keep your currently-installed version
        M     : attempt to merge the differences
        D     : show the differences between the versions
        Z     : background this process to examine the situation
   The default action is to keep your current version.
  *** issue (Y/I/M/N/O/D/Z) [default=N] ?

  If the merge fails with conflicts, bring up a second prompt:

  Configuration file `/etc/configfile'
   ==> Modified (by you or by a script) since installation.
   ==> Package distributor has shipped an updated version.
     What would you like to do about it ?  Your options are:
      Y or I  : install the package maintainer's version
      N or O  : keep your currently-installed version
        M     : manually resolve the conflicting differences
        D     : show the differences between the versions
        Z     : background this process to examine the situation
   The default action is to keep your current version.
  *** issue (Y/I/M/N/O/D/Z) [default=N] ?

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